


The Heart Won't Lie

by NovelCarrington



Category: Chris Evans - Fandom, Real Person Fiction
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-11 15:05:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 55,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5630998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NovelCarrington/pseuds/NovelCarrington
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An old flame comeback back into his life and the secret she has held all these years was nothing he saw coming.  Will they be able to get passed this or will it end their feelings for one another for good?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> January 8, 2016: Readers, while working on my stories I have a "beta-reader" that helps to keep me on track to make sure my story remains cohesive and my facts stay in line. During the reading of this story (after I had posted chapters online), she indicated that there were a few issues. The story appeared choppy and moved too quickly and she found the some issues with the dramatic overtones. With that in mind, I elected to re-write the story and fix the issues.
> 
> If you read any part of this story PRIOR to January 8th, I would encourage you to re-read as there has been a shift. I appreciate your feedback and the loyalty to the story and hope you will understand that these changes were made to benefit the overall story arc. Thank you for your understanding!!

The car slowed to a stop and the taxi driver announced that they had arrived at her destination. She didn’t need him to tell that of course; the heaviness in her chest had been building with each mile. He told her the fare and she paid, stepping out on to the snow filled sidewalk. It was only October but the snow had come early this year, providing a blanket of white to adorn the yard. The sun was setting and it cast a glow on the old house. The autumn air was crisp and the wind cut through her and hastened her walk towards the front door.

The key was hidden under the potted plant at the end of the porch; just like the neighbor said it would be. Provisions had been made for her arrival; the heat was on and there was food in the refrigerator with instructions for reheating. It was also evident that the house had been cleaned because it was spotless; when she lived here the house was never this clean and organized. 

It felt odd to be back and the ghosts of the house were beginning to haunt her. She was so tired that food was the farthest thing from her mind. No, she wanted to try and rest so to bed it would be. She made her way up the large staircase; the first door was for her parents’ room and thankfully it was closed. She did not possess the strength to open it; at least not yet. She continued down the hallway to her old bedroom. The room looked exactly like it did the day she left. It was almost as if her parents left it that way to remind them of how things used to be. The Laura Ashley quilt was still on the bed and the shaggy white rug was still on the floor. She could not help but be transported back to when she would sit on the rug and listen to music or lose herself in books.   
There was no way she could sleep in here, at least not tonight. She opted for one of the guest bedrooms instead; no memories to haunt her in those rooms. 

This trip would not be an easy one and tomorrow would probably be the most difficult day of the entire trip. She needed rest and amazingly it came easy once her head hit the pillow.

~ * ~

The smell of coffee and bacon wafted up the stairs and awakened her senses. She jumped out of the bed and scrambled for her phone to see the time – 7:30 am. She had not bothered to change last night so she was already dressed; albeit a tad wrinkled. She cautiously descended the stairs and tiptoed to the kitchen; evidently she had not been quiet enough.

“Good Morning Mallory; I’m sorry if I scared you.”

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, “Good Morning Mrs. Morgan, did I forget about you coming over this morning? Sorry, I have so much on my mind.”

“Oh no dear; I knew you had quite a lot planned for today and I thought I would make you breakfast.” That is when she noticed the oatmeal, bacon, toast, and juice on the counter. “You will need your strength today and I figured this would help.”

“Thank you Mrs. Morgan. I’ve got to admit that’s probably the nicest thing anyone has done for me lately.”

The older woman approached her and pulled her into an embrace, “I’m so sorry my dear. I want to help in any way I can.” She pulled back and looked around, a little confused, “Did you make the trip alone?”

“Yes ma’am. I got on the next flight after I received the call. My best friend and her husband are arriving later today.”

“And will they be bringing your little one?”

She took another deep breath, “Yes ma’am they will. They are driving because the kids do better in a car versus being on a plane. It just made more sense for them to drive.”

“Oh, yes that does make sense,” Mrs. Morgan turned to begin cleaning the mess she made from cooking breakfast, “You better eat before everything gets cold.”

Mallory didn’t have an appetite but she did not want to offend Mrs. Morgan either. So she sat down and tried to force herself to eat. Mrs. Morgan waited and cleaned up the dishes while Mallory went upstairs to get showered and ready for the start of her day.

~ * ~

The hot shower felt good but it could not wash away the dread that she felt for the day ahead. She made a mental checklist of the things she had to do and hoped that once out of the shower she could remember them to write them down.   
As if on cue, the doorbell rang as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She opened it to find two police detectives. They introduced themselves, although Mallory didn’t pay that much attention to their names and she let them into the house. They seated themselves in the living room and began to ask questions. 

“Ms. Turner I am sorry that we need to go through this now, we do understand this must be a difficult time for you,” the first detective offered.

“Please accept our condolences on your loss,” the second detective chimed in.

“I am willing to answer your questions but you need to know, I was estranged from my parents. I have not talked to them or seen them in over ten years; they kicked me out when I was nineteen.”

“And you are how old now, Ms. Turner?”

“I am thirty-two; I was in college and living at home. My parents and I had a falling out over a relationship I was in and they kicked me out. I transferred to a school in Atlanta and lived with my aunt. I was close with her but she was not very close to her brother, my father. I lived with her and carried on my life there; she died two years ago from cancer.”

“Did your parents go to the funeral?”

She shook her head, “No, they didn’t even send flowers or condolences of any type.”

“So you can’t say if there was anyone here locally who had any sort of disagreement with your parents?”

“I’m confused – I thought my parents were killed in a car accident so why all these questions?”

“We are just exploring all avenues ma’am. The car was badly damaged and we are looking at the possibility the car was tampered with.”

She stood up like she had been shot out of a cannon, “What? Oh my God who would do that?” She began pacing around the room. “My father was an attorney and my mother was his legal secretary. They didn’t do criminal work so why would anyone want to kill them?” She turned back and looked at the detectives again, “Talk to Mrs. Morgan next door she might know if they had received any threats or anything. She was their best friend.”  
The detectives noticed how off balance Mallory seemed when they mentioned the accident could have been deliberate. The first detective spoke up, “Ms. Turner you know we have to ask; did you have anything to do with the death of your parents?”  
She snapped her head in their direction, “Holy shit, you think I did this? Look around you detectives; do you see any photographs or me in this house? Do you see any photographs of my little boy, the grandchild of these people? Let me save you time – no, there are none. My parents didn’t speak to me and I didn’t speak to them. Check my phone records, email accounts, whatever you want. And for measure, I will already tell you I am not in their will. I was a disgrace to them and they cut me out of their life. The only reason I am here is because they need to be buried and I have to sell this house.”

“We understand, thank you for your time.”

“Can I ask a question,” Mallory said as she walked back towards the detectives, “I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to be. Will there be a delay in needing to bury them because of your investigation? I realize that sounds cold but I would rather this be over very quickly.”

“No ma’am it will not cause a delay. The concern is with the vehicle and their injuries have been documented and it is clear they died as a result of the accident.”

She nodded as they detailed this information, “I am sorry to come off as cold and unfeeling. I just had in my mind that my parents died years ago when they kicked me out and I had accepted life without them. But now that they are really gone, the feelings are rushing back and it is quite painful to truly be alone.”

“We understand and we will see ourselves out Ms. Turner. Thank you for giving us your time.”

Mallory watched as the detectives walked back to their car. She was sure they had some expectation that she was involved in the death of her parents.  


	2. Chapter 2

Mallory was a basket case; the idea that there was any suspicion that her parents were murdered made her ill. It was even worse to think that they thought she had something to do with it. She had to go to the funeral home to make arrangements but she could not leave while she was this worked up. She sat on the couch and began measured breathing; trying the mediation techniques that everyone had been talking about. 

An hour later her breathing was calm and she felt as if her blood pressure had finally gone back to normal. She grabbed her purse and her coat and headed to the car for the short drive to the funeral home. As she opened the door, she was met in the foyer by the funeral director who offered his hand and his condolences. He ushered her into a small seating area to begin the final preparations.

He told her that her parents had pre-planned their funeral and most of the arrangements were complete. She needed to provide some information for the obituary to be written and to pick out the flower sprays that would adorn the top of the caskets. He had mentioned that her parents had already been prepared and since there were no out of town relatives they could schedule everything right away.

Mallory agreed to a wake with a memorial service and the funeral the following morning. The wake would be the day after tomorrow with the funeral to follow. She worried, after agreeing to this schedule, if she could handle this. She was not your typical grieving child; she was estranged from her family and it made it hard to shed a tear. She was sure the funeral director noticed this and could only imagine what was going through his head.

The entire planning session only took about forty-five minutes; pre-planning had been a blessing. As she was driving back to the house she hoped that she would not run into anyone that she knew. She just wasn’t ready to start playing the bereft daughter. Her heart immediately got lighter when she pulled into the driveway and noticed Darby’s van. 

Darby was her best friend and she made the trip with her husband John and their daughter along with Mallory’s son. The drive to Boston from Atlanta was most likely nerve-wracking enough but do it with a small child and a pre-teen had to have been torture. She headed straight in the door and enveloped her son in a tight squeeze.

“Mom, I can’t breathe,” he cried.

“Sorry,” she said releasing him a bit, “I missed you and I am glad you are here.”

“You were gone a day, geez!” He said as he went back into the living room; his attention glued to the tablet in his hand.

Darby came walking into the hallway with her daughter on her hip, “How are you holding up?”

“Eh, I’m okay I guess. You missed the fun this morning,” Mallory kicked off her shoes and hung her coat in the closet. She turned and put her hands on her hips, “Two detectives showed up asking questions because it seems that maybe the car accident wasn’t an accident after all.”

“What? Are you kidding? Jesus do they think you had something to do with it?”

John walked up just in time, “Had something to do with what?”

“Yeah they wanted to know if I killed my parents or had reason to kill them.” As a nervous habit, Mallory ran her fingers through her hair. “I told them I had not talked to them in years. I also made sure they knew I am not inheriting anything so there is no motive on my side. I hated my parents for turning their back on me but I would never kill them.”  
“  
Well and if you would have, your motive would have been greater all those years ago.” At that moment Darby slapped her husband on the back of the head for making such an asinine comment. “What? It is true. Well, I will be your lawyer if need one.”

“I am willing to testify that you don’t have it in you do something like that,” Darby offered. “Thanks, I appreciate that. I just hope the fact that I was vocal about not talking to them does not make me more of a suspect.” Mallory walked past them and into the kitchen making a beeline for the refrigerator. She grabbed a bottle of water and held it up as an unspoken offer to them and they both declined. “So I made the final arrangements at the funeral home. Closed caskets, the injuries were too severe to both of them,” she stopped and took a drink, “we are going to do the wake and memorial service the day after tomorrow and the funeral the day after that.”

“Are you sure you are up for a wake and memorial service? I mean that will be a lot of people questioning why you have been gone,” Darby was trying to be supportive.

“No, I’m not up for it and I don’t want to do it but I don’t really have a choice. My father knew so many people that I know they will want to pay respects. If I don’t do a wake then they will talk about me behind my back. This way they can do it to my face.” She smiled as she raised the water bottle to her lips.

“Do you think he will come? Henry’s father I mean.” John asked cautiously.

“I don’t know and I am not really sure if I am prepared if he does. Hell, I am not even sure if he is in town.”

~ * ~

The cellphone began vibrating on the table next to the bed; he reached for it and silenced the ringer versus answering it. A minute later the vibration began again meaning whomever it was felt the need to call back right away. He grabbed the phone and saw the caller ID and answered, “Hey mom, how are you?”

“You sound like I woke you up…did I?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact you did. I had a late night and I have a late call today so I was trying to get some sleep.”

“Aren’t you almost done? How many days do you have left?”

“Today is my last day, why?”

“Well, I was wondering if you are going to be coming to Boston or if you were going to detour to somewhere else?  
He sat up in bed, realizing there was an odd tone in his mother’s voice. She was always very direct in asking questions and today it seemed like she was taking her time to get there. “Mom, what’s going on? I can tell you are apprehensive, I don’t get it.”

“Yeah, I just don’t know how to tell you but here it goes. Mallory Turner’s parents were killed in a car accident a few days ago.”

Chris took a minute before answering, running his fingers through his hair and wondering how he was supposed to respond. He didn’t want to give up to him mom that Mallory still had some sort of hold over him. Instead he decided to sound indifferent and almost cold-hearted, “That is horrible that her parents died but why are you telling me this? I am pretty sure you know that I am not involved with her any longer.”

“Chris she will be back in town to bury them; maybe you could take the opportunity to pay your respects and talk to her.”

“Mom, she up and left me without warning. I have spent years trying to put her out of my mind and I don’t think seeing me at the time when she has to bury her parents is going to help either of us.”

“Stop, I know you have unresolved feelings for her and you need to get them out. You need to have closure on this,” Lisa took a minute before continuing; “I know you think you have been hiding that the fact that you still have feelings for her but a mother can sense these things.”

He sighed heavily, “To answer your first question, I am not taking a detour; I am coming straight home. And in terms of seeing Mallory; well I just don’t think it would help anything so can you please drop it?”  
His mother tried to protest but in the end, she relented. She said her goodbyes and he hung up the phone and cursed that she stirred up the feelings that he had worked fairly hard at burying. When Mallory left he was devastated and he tried to find her with no luck. So, he did what most men do, he got back into the dating pool and got into another relationship. He was with Jessica for several years and there was always something nagging at him. She had commented on it several times but it was never identified or spoken about in detail. The nagging issue was Mallory; she was a ghost to him and it drove him insane.

He remembered the talk in town when she had left that she had a major falling out with her parents. So it seemed her leaving was less about Chris and more about them. He never could understand why she had to break it off; he had moved to California and she could have come out there with him. Now that he had these thoughts in his head again he wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep. He got out of bed and went over to his laptop to Google the death of Mallory’s parents.  
As he was reading the story, his buddy Josh walked into the trailer. Not only was Josh one of his best friends but he had made the decision to hire him as his assistant when he was on movie sets. . This allowed him to have someone he trusted at his side and also someone who could keep him grounded. 

“I thought you were trying to get some sleep, man. What are you doing awake? Josh asked as he threw himself on the couch in the trailer.

“My mom woke me up to ask if I was coming home after I am done filming. Hey, did you know that Mallory Turner’s parents were just killed in an accident?”

“Yeah, my mom called me and told me; from what she said it was a rather fiery crash. I gave some thought to telling you but I wasn’t sure if I should bring up her name.”

“Yeah the concern didn’t cross my mom’s mind evidently,” He said with a slight smirk. “She wants me to come home and to see Mallory and try to get closure; whatever the hell that means.” “Really? Are you going to do it?”

“I am going to go home but I am not planning on going to the funeral. It isn’t that I am not sorry for her loss but I just don’t know if I can handle seeing her. What does your mom know about what happened or where she’s been?

“Not much, she said that Mallory had a fight with her parents and she left. Her parents didn’t talk about her. Mom said it was weird, there were no pictures of her in the house and her name was never mentioned. It was almost like she died.”

“Really? I wonder what in the hell happened?” Josh was wringing his hands which to Chris meant that Josh knew something and he was fighting to keep it quiet. “Alright man, I can tell you know something. Spill it, what are you hiding?”

Josh gave him a look as if he was a deer caught in headlights. He let out a heavy sigh and said “I know it was about you. The fight she had with her parents was about you and the fact that you were pursuing acting. They didn’t think you were right for her and that she was getting in over her head and that you would encourage her to leave school and move to Hollywood.”

“So wait, they hated that we were together and she fought with them regarding staying with me but she still broke up with me and disappeared? Josh that makes no sense; do you hear what you are saying?”

“I know, I think they made her break up with you and she hated them for it. I think that led to more fighting and she left because of what they made her do.” Josh walked over and put his hand on Chris’s shoulder, “Man I am sorry, I have known that for a few years but I didn’t have the guts to tell you. I didn’t want to upset you or make it worse.” “It’s alright, I know you were trying to protect my feelings and I appreciate you having my back.”

“You know I am going to tell you I think your mom is right. It might do you some good to see her and exorcise the demon and move on with your life.

It was definitely something to think about. He just wasn’t sure if he could handle seeing her again.  
 


	3. Chapter 3

Since the day she got the call about her parents, Mallory had been on auto-pilot.  She had been briefly pulled out of it when the police questioned her.  That had been a rude awakening and she was concerned that there were actually people who thought she would have done something so vile. 

She had to place a call to the office of her parent’s attorney.  The last thing she wanted to deal with was the financial end of this situation.  She was advised that her parents’ estate would cover the funeral costs as well as any other costs incurred from the hospital.  She just needed to send the invoices to the office and they would take care of making the payments.  The office informed her that there was a will and they would arrange to read it the day after the funeral.  She went ahead and asked if she could put the house up for sale since she knew she wasn’t being left anything but was told to hold off.  She just wanted all of this to be over; no one seemed to understand the pain she was being subjected to by staying in this house.  She was tempted to go to a hotel but she could hear her father’s voice in the back of her head saying it would be wasting money.

She hung up the phone and tried to find things to do to occupy her time.  She knew she should be doing something productive like cleaning their room out or packing up items for the Goodwill.  But she could not bring herself to open the door to their room.  By mid-afternoon her concern over being bored were put to rest.  The word had gotten out that she was home and that she had made the funeral arrangements.  The obituary had been posted online and now there was a steady stream of visitors stopping by the house. 

The friends and neighbors of her parents wanted her to know that they were sorry for her loss and they brought casseroles, soups, and meat and cheese trays.  They would comment on how they had not seen her in years and that she was just a lovely as her mother.  It was hard to hear these things and it was just the beginning of the plastered on smile that would occupy her face for the next two days.

So many people had stopped by with food that the refrigerator could not hold it all.  They were being overrun with food so John and Darby would covertly sneak food out the back door and delivered it to the homeless shelter.  There was no way this food would be eaten so it was better to share and keep it from going to waste. 

~ *~

At the end of the evening, Mallory was sitting on the couch staring at the darkened television.  She was alone at the moment; Henry was taking a bath and getting ready for bed and Darby and John were on the last food run of the night to the homeless shelter. 

Her head was pounding; she had spent so much time talking to people and dealing with their grief she had not had time to eat.  Now, it was too late in the day and it would not be good to eat a meal and go straight to bed.  She had taken a couple of ibuprofen and figured she would go to bed after spending time with Henry when he came back downstairs.

She felt like a terrible mother, he was being pushed to the side while she dealt with this mess.  He was very good natured about it; after all it meant he could spend time playing his video games and not get yelled at for it.  But it hurt to think she was ignoring him; he was her only family and she wanted the bond with him to stay as strong as possible for as long as possible.  She was so lost in thought that she did not hear him come downstairs.

“Hey mom can I have some ice cream?”

She turned and looked over at him, “No, I think you have had enough to eat today.  Come here and sit next to me.”

He was dejected but he did what she asked, “You do know it works better to watch TV if you actually turn the TV on, right?”

She laughed and reached over to ruffle his hair, “Yes you dope I know that.”  She could not help but smile as this boy.  His dark blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes made him look like an angel; he was angelic but there was something devious in his smile from time to time.  “Hey I am really sorry that I have been running all around and haven’t spent a lot of time with you.  I hope you aren’t mad at me.”

“Nah, I know you have stuff to deal with.”

“Okay, well I have a favor to ask.  You didn’t know your grandparents so would you be upset if I said you don’t have to come to the funeral home or the funeral?  I can’t imagine that you would want to be there.”

“No, that is okay with me but do you want me there for support?” 

She smiled; this boy was so smart and thoughtful and she didn’t know how she got so lucky.  “Oh baby that is so nice of you to offer; I will be alright.  Besides if you were there no one would leave their hands off of you.  They would just want to pinch those little cheeks.”  She said as she playfully went for his cheeks.

“STOP!” He squealed as he tried to fend her off.  His face was now flush and his laughter dissipating.  “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, what is it?”

He put his head against her shoulder and quietly asked, “Why didn’t I ever meet grandma and grandpa?”

Mallory’s heart sank; it was not a question she was anticipating and she wasn’t really sure how to answer.  “Well, you will understand more when you are a grown-up; but they got really mad at me when I was younger and told me to not come home.”

“They kicked you out?”

“Yeah baby, they did.  We had a very ugly fight and they told me to leave.  So I moved to Atlanta to live with Aunt Mary.  When you were born I tried to see if they would let me come home and they wouldn’t let me.  So that is why you never met them.”  She tried to give a very high level account of the story because he didn’t need to know it all.  However what she had told him had almost been enough to make her break. 

“Do you think the still loved you?”

“I don’t think so sweetie.  It has made me sad from time to time when I have thought about it.”

Henry was quiet and it was almost as if he was letting everything she had told him sink in.  “Are you going to stop loving me and make me move out?”

“Absolutely not!  I love you to the moon and back and I won’t stop, ever.”

The two continued to sit in silence for a few minutes longer.  Finally Henry sat up and declared that since he could not have ice cream he was going to bed.  Mallory gave him a hug and a kiss and sent him on his way.  She could feel her heart swell as she watched him bound up the steps.

~ * ~

Mallory was not looking forward to the day; she had no energy to move or to even will herself out of the bed.  It wasn’t the grief that was zapping her strength; it was the idea that she would have to put on a dog and pony show and pretend as if she was the grief stricken daughter.  The obituary listed her but she left Henry’s name out of it; even in death she was trying not to embarrass them.  She knew they had never told their friends that they had a grandson so she didn’t want to supply grist for the gossip mill after they were gone.  She considered it her final gift to them; although they didn’t deserve the consideration.

The wake would begin at 3pm and she had to be there at 2pm.  It was customary that the immediate family be provided an hour of solitude to grieve before friends and family came to call.  She had several hours to kill.  She went ahead and got her shower out of the way and then went downstairs to see what was going on.  Molly was showing off her dance moves to the music on John’s phone while Darby made breakfast.  As usual, Henry was on the tablet playing whatever game was keeping him occupied at the moment.

“Hey Darby,” Mallory whispered as she saddled up beside her at the stove, “Would you and John hate  me if I told you that you didn’t have to come to the funeral home and I wanted Henry to hang out with you?”

“Are you serious?”  Darby asked, “Don’t you want us there for support?”

“I would love to have your support but I don’t’ want to answer a lot of questions about Henry,” she turned to see if he was listening before going on.  “I think it will be hard enough to deal with people asking why I was never around but to explain that I have a son born 6 months after I left would be a little harder to deal with.”

“Oh, yeah I didn’t think of it like that.  Sure, we can find something to do I’m sure.”

“Look, I will give you money to head into downtown.  Maybe go to the aquarium or something that way you aren’t stuck in the house.”

“Well I am sure there is something we can find to do.  Henry is a history buff so being in Boston will give a good reason to get some learning in.  I just want to make sure you are going to be okay going through it all day by yourself.”

Mallory didn’t answer; she just nodded to acknowledge she would be fine.  She was glad that Darby was here for her and it would be more important to have her at the end of the day when she got back.  She was sure she would break down eventually and Darby needed to be ready for that.

Following breakfast, Mallory spent time with Henry and told him stories about when she was a kid.  She told him stories about climbing the trees in the backyard and playing outside until it was dark so they could catch fireflies.  She even recounted how worried her parents had been when she fell down the front stairs.  She had been running in her socks and she slid on the freshly waxed risers of the stairs.  She had slid all the way down and hit the wall; she was fine but the wall had a ding in it from her head.  

It was time to leave and she was not really ready.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 8, 2016: Readers, due to feedback received through the beta-reading of this story, there have been revisions made. If you read chapters 1-3 prior to January 8th, I would encourage you to begin again as there have been changes that will impact the story within chapter 4.
> 
> I hope you know I did make these changes in the hopes of improving the story and I appreciate your understanding.

Mallory arrived at the funeral home and the funeral director met her at the door ushering her into the room where the wake would be held.  The room was long and narrow; at one end the caskets were placed on opposite walls.  It would allow, the funeral director noted, for her to be stationed in one spot and easily greet visitors for both of her parents.  The room had plenty of seating areas for mourners to congregate and participate in the memorial service that evening.

He wanted to make sure she had no questions or concerns and then he left the room to give her some time alone.  He could not help but feel a little sorry for her; a woman burying both of her parents at the same time and no one there to offer her love and encouragement.  She saw the pity in his eyes as he turned away.  Mallory sat down in the middle of the large couch at the front of the seating area.  It was facing the end of the room where the caskets were situated.  She noted how beautiful the casket sprays looked for each of them and took notice of the flag that was folded atop her father’s casket. The area, on the far wall between the caskets, was filled with flowers and plants; Mallory was fixated on what she would do with everything at the conclusion of the service.

Mallory said a small prayer; she then thought about how sad it was that she couldn’t cry and felt emptiness inside.  She figured there would be a special place in hell for a child who does not mourn the death of her parents and wasn’t even able to muster a tear.  After twenty minutes, Mallory stood and opened the doors to the room; letting the funeral director know that if visitors arrived they could enter.

Right at 3pm friends and neighbors began arriving.  Mallory took her place at the front of the room and shook hands and accepted condolences.  A few people commented on how grown up she looked and that they had missed seeing her in town.  No one brought up the fact that her parents didn’t talk about her or that they knew she was disowned.  But she was pretty sure that people were whispering about it as they congregated in different areas of the room.  She hated the idea that she was the topic of gossip and conversation.

She took a deep breath, silently said another prayer and played her role for the next few hours.

~ * ~

Lisa Evans was reading the paper at her kitchen table when she was joined by Chris.  He poured himself a cup of coffee and snatched the sports section to read the latest news about the Patriots.  The two sat in silence reading peacefully when Lisa finally made it to the obituaries page.

“I see that the Turner’s viewing is today and the funeral is tomorrow,” she said without directly addressing Chris.  “The viewing starts at 3pm and there is a memorial service at 6:30.  You know it is really sad that she has to deal with losing them both at the same time.”

Chris didn’t respond, he just continued to read the paper and drink his coffee.  After a few minutes, Lisa tried a more direct approach.  “Have you changed your mind?  Are you going to go and see her and offer your condolences?” Chris put the paper down and just glared at his mom for a moment; she was relentless in her quest to get him to see Mallory.

He figured he would shock her a little by revealing some information, “Were you aware that her fight with her parents was because of me?”  Lisa shook her head, this was news to her.  “Yeah, I talked to Josh and his parents were still friends with the Turners.  He said that her parents thought I was a bad influence on her; I was going to make her quit school and shuffle off to Hollywood with me.  They didn’t’ think I was good enough for her.”  Chris went back to reading the paper as if he had been recounting the weather instead of the reason for his breakup all those years ago.

Lisa was shocked and found it difficult to form a response; it was not what she had anticipated hearing.  “So they kicked her out because of you?  Is that what you are saying?”

“Well, no, not exactly.  Seems they told her to break up with me and she didn’t want to and continued to fight them on it.  Because of the fight, they kicked her out.  So yeah, it is weird and makes no sense but this is what Josh said he was told and I believe him.  We’ve been friends forever and he wouldn’t lie to me.”

“Well regardless of the situation, her parents are gone and you should go and see her.  You need to get her out of your system and that won’t happen until you confront her.”

“I don’t think I can do it; I just don’t know if I can look at her and walk away.”

~ * ~

It was almost time for the memorial service and Mallory had been standing in the front of the room all day.  She was thankful that Darby made her wear comfortable shoes because if not her feet would be hurting much more than they were right now.    Everyone was starting to get seated and the condolence line had finally broken up.  She moved to read a few of the cards on the flowers when she heard someone clear their throat behind her.  She turned and stared for a moment before moving forward to embrace the man in front of her.

“Oh Josh, thank you for coming.  It is nice to finally see a friendly face.” She pulled back and looked him over, “Oh my goodness you look gorgeous.”

“Well you don’t look half bad yourself there kid,” He smiled at her.  “It is good to see you Mallory I just wish it was under different circumstances.  I know everyone has said this today but I am sorry about your folks.”

“Yeah I have heard that once or twice today,” She smiled and chuckled quietly.  Her eyes began darting around the room, looking to see if she saw any other familiar faces.  Her smile faded when she realized the person she was looking for was not there.

“I don’t think he is going to be here; when I talked to him the other day he said he would not be coming.” She gave him a confused look.  “Don’t deny it, you’re looking for Chris.  Years have passed but that wound; it is still fresh and I am not sure he is ready to see you.  Actually I think he wants to; but he doesn’t trust himself.”

The disappointment that she felt played across her face.  She knew there was a chance that he would not be there; but she had held out a sliver of hope.  “So he is in town then?

“Yeah, we got home yesterday; just wrapped production and he is going to be home for about six months.  He will have a few award shows or events to go to but overall he has some time off.”

“I’m glad to hear that his career is going well,” She looked down at her hands and began to fidget.

Josh reached for her hands and took them in his, “Look, I had to tell him that your fight with your parents was about him.  I didn’t tell him the whole story and I never told him that I talk to you.  He thinks I have information from my parents.”  As if he feared who might overhear him, he took a quick look around the room as well.  “I think you need to call him before you head home.  Now, with your parents gone it might be the right time.”

“I am not sure; I don’t know that it would solve anything if I did.  But I will think about it.”

She gave him another hug and this time it was a little tighter than the last.  “Thank you, I am so glad you came here tonight, it means a lot.”

“I thought I would sit with you during the memorial service if you don’t mind.  I just didn’t want you to go through the entire day alone.”

“That would be nice, thank you.”  The two walked over and took a seat on the couch.  Josh held her hand and provided a squeeze to show support.  He also had a couple of his tissues in his shirt pocket in case she needed them.

Sitting with Josh was the first time she could say she had been at peace all afternoon.  He was always a good friend to her; not to mention he was her lifeline to Chris.  She only had to get through the next thirty minutes and then she could go home and have a glass of wine and a hot bath.  Luckily the service began right on time.  She was not an overly religious person and neither were her parents so it was a blessing that the service was brief.

She realized as the service ended that she had rested her head on Josh’s shoulder.  She did it without even realizing it and he never objected.  He did note to himself that she never needed a tissue during the service and he had not seen her cry.  She rose from the couch to say final goodbyes to some of the guests filing out of the room.  She turned to Josh and again gave him a hug.  It was hard to express to him how thankful she was but she was going to try.  “It really does mean a great deal to me that we are still friends.  I know it is hard for you to be in the middle of Chris and me.  But I am thankful that you are there and that you let me know how he is doing.”  She stood back and looked up at Josh, making eye contact for a brief moment before he looked away.   His brilliant green eyes were beginning to cloud over, as if a storm was approaching.  “Josh, what’s the matter you look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.”

He did not answer her and she was confused as to what was happening.  She slowly turned around and he was standing in there, in the doorway, wearing a dark suit and the same clouded look in his eyes that she saw in Josh’s face.

He took a few steps forward and she froze; what was he doing here?  He stood right in front of her, never taking his eyes off of Josh.  Then she heard that deep velvety voice that used to whisper to hear all those years ago say, “Hello Mallory and Hello Josh.”

She blinked quickly to see if she was dreaming or if he was really in front of her.  “Hello Chris, I honestly wasn’t expecting to see you.”

He never took his eyes off of Josh, “I argued with myself all day as to whether I should come or not.  I have to admit I didn’t know if I wanted to see you.  I finally decided, upon the advice of a friend, that if I didn’t take this opportunity I might regret it later.”

Josh finally decided to say something, “I thought I would pay my respects so she didn’t go through this all alone.  I would have offered to bring you with me if I had known you were considering coming.”  Josh looked down at Mallory; her eyes were fixed on Chris.  “Hey Mal, I am going to leave so that you and Chris can talk.  I will see you at the funeral tomorrow, okay?”

She nodded in acknowledgement but never looked at him.  “I will see you tomorrow,” She squeaked out.

Josh walked out of the room and Chris turned to make sure he was really leaving.  He could confront her on what he had witnessed but that was not why he was there.  He took another step towards her and nodded towards the caskets, “I am sorry to hear about their passing.  Were you able to patch things up with them over the years?”

“Um, no we were still estranged.  I had to come and bury them; I am their only living family in the eyes of the law.  So I had no choice.”

He faced her and asked, “So what is going on with you and Josh?”

She gave him a surprised look, “Um, nothing is going on with Josh.  We are friends and he was here to offer condolences.  It has been a long day and I am emotionally drained; it was nice to have someone here for me.”

“I didn’t realize you two were still speaking to one another; he’s never mentioned it before.”  There was agitation in his voice and he was trying very hard to keep his emotions in check.

“We would talk from time to time; I asked him not to tell you because I didn’t want there to be any awkwardness between the two of you.”

“So has he known where you were all this time?”

“No, I never told him where I was.  He gets an ‘a’ for effort though; he asked every time.”

“But you asked about me?”

She hung her head, he had overheard the conversation and she tried to think back to make sure she had not mentioned anything about Henry.  “Yeah, I ask about you.  I know you might not believe me but I have regrets about how things ended with us and wish I could do a few things over.”

“Josh told me that your fight with your parents, when you left town, that it was about me.  Is that true?”

“Yes, but it was only part of a larger fight; there were some other things that we were dealing with.  But no, they didn’t like that we were dating.”  She was not ready to talk to him about everything; however, she was not going to deny what he already knew from Josh.

Chris was a little uncomfortable talking to Mallory; he was cycling through emotions.  He was jealous when he saw her head on Josh’s shoulder during the memorial service.  He was angry when he realized that they had evidently continued a relationship without him knowing it.  Then came the rush of heat when he looked at her; really looked into her eyes and spoke with her.  She still had a hold over him and he felt that if he just kissed her they would be right back where they were all those years ago.

“Where have you been all of these years?”  He finally had the courage to ask.

She could sense that he was nervous and she was mirroring his feelings.  But she tried to remain even toned as she answered, “Atlanta, I moved in with my aunt.  I transferred to a school down there and finished my degree then found a job and just settled in.  I like it there; so different from Boston but it is now my home.”

“I have so many things I want to talk to you about and things I want to know but I realize that right now is not the time or place.  Is there any chance you would be willing to have lunch or dinner with me?”  He could not believe the words came out of his mouth.  It was as if his heart was doing all of the talking.

She had to admit she had not anticipated him to ask.  “Yeah, I think I would like that.  The funeral is tomorrow morning and the reading of the will is the day after.   So, just let me know when you would like to get together.”

“Ok, so when are you heading back to Atlanta?”

“Right now the plan is to leave on Sunday.  My friends came up with me and they have to drive back because of work.  I can either ride with them or use my return ticket and fly out separately.  Honestly, I haven’t thought about it yet because I wanted to wait to see what I might have to do after the will is read.”

“Oh, yeah I guess you need to know what is going on there.”

“Oh don’t get me wrong I don’t think I am getting anything.  Chris my parents disowned me so I am not in their will.  I just don’t know if I have to clean out the house before it goes up for sale or what the expectation will be for me in that regard.”  Mallory looked up at him, she couldn’t help herself, those eyelashes and the faint hint of stubble made her body ache to touch him.  She was lost in thought before she was able to say, “Would you mind walking me to my car?”

“No, I wouldn’t mind,” He said as he gestured toward the door.  He let her lead but he stayed in step with her.  As she pressed the button on her key chain to unlock the car he realized he was going to say goodnight to her.   Something he wasn’t really ready to do; he was falling for her all over again.

“Thanks Chris, I appreciate you walking me out.  I didn’t really want to walk out in the dark by myself – guess I am just being girly.”

“My pleasure,” He licked his lips and tried to think of what to say.   “I’ll give you a call in the next few days to see if we can get together.  Again, I’m really sorry about your parents.”

She flashed a smile and opened her car door.  He stood by and watched as she started the car and pulled out of the parking lot; wondering to himself what he was getting himself into.


	5. Chapter 5

Chris got in his car after watching Mallory drive off; he drove home and sat in the driveway for a few minutes in order to collect his thoughts.  His mom knew he had changed his mind and decided to go to the memorial service; the problem was that he wasn’t ready to discuss it with her just yet.

He walked into the house and quietly closed the front door behind him.  Carly would be in the middle of putting the kids down for the night and he didn’t want to interrupt that process; she would kill him if he kept the kids up.  He walked into the kitchen and pulled a beer out of the refrigerator, leaned against the counter and took a long pull from the bottle. He had just finished that first drink when his mom came home.  He placed the bottle on the counter, crossed his arms and waited for her to say something; she did not disappoint.

“Oh, you are back already?” Lisa took over her coat and hung it on the back of the barstool, “How did it go; were you able to talk to Mallory and clear things up?”

“It went fine,” he answered, hoping she would take the hint that he didn’t want to talk.  But, she didn’t!

“It was fine?  You haven’t seen her for years and that is all you have to say?  So, I am guessing it must not have gone as you anticipated.”

After watching Mallory drive away, Chris got in his car and drove home.  He sat in the driveway for a few minutes in order to collect his thoughts; his mom knew he had changed his mind and decided to go to the memorial service and he wasn’t ready to discuss it with her just yet.

He walked into the house and quietly closed the front door behind him.  Carly would be in the middle of putting the kids down for the night and he didn’t want to interrupt that process; she would kill him if he kept the kids up.  He walked into the kitchen and pulled a beer out of the refrigerator, leaned against the counter and took a long pull from the bottle. He had just finished that first drink when his mom came home.  He placed the bottle on the counter, crossed his arms and waited for her to say something; she did not disappoint.

“Oh, you are back already?” Lisa took over her coat and hung it on the back of the barstool, “How did it go; were you able to talk to Mallory and clear things up?”

“It went fine,” he answered, hoping she would take the hint that he didn’t want to talk.  But, she didn’t!

“It was fine?  You haven’t seen her for years and that is all you have to say?  So, I am guessing it must not have gone as you anticipated.”

“It was a shock to see her; she is still a beautiful girl.  But when I arrived I found her cozy with Josh, so I would say I didn’t anticipate that.  Then when he left she told me that she had talked to him over the years and I didn’t anticipate that either.”  He reached for the bottle and took another drink, “And for some reason, I announced that I wanted to take her out for us to talk and clear everything up.”

“Ok, I admit I didn’t anticipate that,” his mom responded with a dry laugh.  “Did you find out where she’s been all this time?”

“Yeah, she has been in Atlanta.  Apparently she moved in with her aunt and has been there all this time. She said that she was still estranged from her parents and that she had to be here because she was the only family they had left.”  He took another drink and tried to guess at what his mother would ask next.

“Was she able to tell you why she left so suddenly?  Maybe fill in some details?”

“No we kept our conversation short.  It was a long day for her so I didn’t want to keep her there too long.  That is why I asked to take her to lunch or dinner; so we could have some quiet time to talk.”

“Oh, I see.  Well it makes sense to talk to her after the funeral stuff is out of the way.  Speaking of which, are you planning on going to the funeral?”

Chris took another drink; his bottle was just about empty.  “No, I have a magazine interview scheduled for 8:30 tomorrow morning so I won’t be able to make it.”

“You could cancel the interview in order to go.”

“No, I am not canceling.  What would I say?  It isn’t like I can tell them I am going to the funeral for the parents of my ex-girlfriend.  They would be all over that shit and I don’t need that type of publicity and neither does Mallory.”

“Well, I still think you should have at least tried to reschedule it so you could go.  It would have been a nice gesture.”

Chris just shook his head; his mother was working awfully hard at finding a way for him and Mallory to get back together.  “You don’t give up do you?”

“No, not where my kids and their happiness are concerned.  I am going to the funeral if you change your mind.”

“I didn’t think you were friends with the Turners so why are you going?”

“I am going with Josh’s parents.  They were good friends with them and I am going to be supportive and to pay my respects to my son’s ex-girlfriend’s parents,” she said with a devilish smile.

He drained the last of the beer in the bottle and discarded the empty in the recycling bin.  “I am going to head to bed, thanks for the talk mom.”  He walked over and kissed her on her head and then proceeded to go upstairs.

~ * ~

Mallory walked into the house and found John and Darby snuggled on the couch in front of the fireplace.  The only light in the room was the glow provided by the fire.  She felt guilty for intruding on their private time. 

She tried to shut the door quietly and was going to sneak up the stairs when Darby turned her way, “Hey, we were starting to worry about you.  Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I am fine.  Look I will go up and leave you two alone – see you in the morning.”

“Get in here!”  John’s voice boomed, “We were just keeping warm and talking while we were waiting for you.”

She slowly walked into the room and sat down in the chair across from them.  “I guess the kids are in bed?”

“Yeah, Molly went down about two hours ago and I think Henry just went to bed.  He was trying to wait up for you but he was exhausted.”

“So you guys had fun today?” 

“Yeah, it was nice and they seemed to enjoy it.  We did all the tourist type stuff so Henry will have something to talk about when he gets home.”  Darby moved from John’s side and leaned forward, “How was it?  Are you holding up okay?”

“They had a lot of people come out to pay their respects.  I guess they had a public side and a private side.  Everyone thought they were wonderful and that it was such a loss to the community.”  Mallory said with a bit of sadness to her voice, “To their credit, no one asked why I never came around or if I had made up with my parents.  I was never brave enough to ask anyone what the ‘official’ story was about my leaving.”

“I know you are bitter and you have every right to be, but you are doing the right thing and I am proud of you,” Darby offered.

“Thanks, I appreciate that.  At least, I didn’t have to sit through the memorial service alone; Josh showed up and sat with me.  It was really sweet and it actually brought a sense of calm over me.  I am sure that sounds ridiculous.”

“No, not at all; it makes sense.  He is a steady in your life even though you rarely see him in person.  You needed a steady for the memorial service and he served a purpose.  Of course, John and I were willing to be that steady for you.”

“Yeah, I know and I appreciate that.  I just didn’t want to subject you and the kids to it today since you will be there for me tomorrow.  In case I forget to tell you again, I do appreciate it, more than I can probably express.  I guess I should tell you that Chris showed up tonight.”

“Whoa, that is a bit of a surprise.  I take it he spoke to you?”

“Yeah, that is why I was late coming home.  He wanted to talk and offer his condolences.  I suspect he was also a little shocked to see me with Josh.  I had to admit that I‘ve talked to him over the years.  I didn’t tell him everything but I suspect he has more questions.  Which I suspect is why he asked if he could take me to lunch or dinner before we go back to Atlanta.”

“What did you tell him?”  John asked, suddenly more interested in the conversation.

“I told him that I would like that, and I really would.  I am just a little nervous about it and what I should or should not tell him.”

“You should tell him everything but I would not do that in a public setting,” Darby offered.

“Oh, I agree,” Mallory stated as she stood from the chair.  “I think I am going to go pour a glass of wine and take a hot bath.  I need to relax so I can try and get some sleep if I want to make it through tomorrow.  Thanks for everything you two, I mean it.”  She walked over and gave each of them a kiss on the cheek and headed to the kitchen.

With a bottle of wine in one hand and a glass in the other, she made her way to the bathroom upstairs.  She put the bottle and glass down and began to draw a hot bath.  She hoped that this would be just what she needed to relax.  It was, because as she lowered herself into the steaming hot water, she felt the weight of the day begin to dissipate.  Her friends were right, she was going to need to tell Chris everything but right now she felt like an island in a raging sea of emotion.   She finished off her glass of wine and when the water began to cool it was her cue to go to bed.  Alcohol always made her tired but she was not sure if she would be able to sleep or have any peace knowing what tomorrow would bring.


	6. Chapter 6

The morning light began to shine through the curtains and Mallory no longer fought the urge to sleep. As she had expected; she had tossed and turned all night; every time she started to get comfortable and doze off she would be snapped back to the look on Chris’ face at the funeral home; the look of shock when he realized she was standing so close with Josh. She crawled out of bed and descended the stairs to join everyone for breakfast. She was not quite sure how it always seemed that everyone, including Henry, were out of bed and ready to go before her each day.  She grabbed her coffee and took a seat at the table and joined in the mundane conversation.  She asked Henry all about the trip into downtown Boston and if he learned anything new.  The infectious laugh and smile when he recounted the trip almost made her forget what would be taking place in just an hour or so.

Once breakfast was over, everyone went upstairs to get ready to leave for the service.  Before they walked out the door, Mallory fixed Henry’s collar and tie and made sure his suit looked perfect and he held her hand as they walked to the car.  The decision had been made to have the funeral at the graveside to avoid the long procession of cars going through town from the church to the cemetery.  

The cemetery did not have many trees in the area where her parents would be laid to rest.  It meant that they would feel the autumn wind as they stood for the service.  Due to the snow and the uneven ground, they would not have chairs or a tent as shelter.  It was almost a metaphor for her relationship with her parents – trying and cold.  The one positive was that the graves were near the road that ran through the tranquil hills of the cemetery.  This meant that she did not have to walk very far into the snowy field for the service.  She did realize it was an odd thing to consider, but her mind was racing in a thousand different directions.

Before the service started she took a quick look around; there were a number of people there.  More than she had truly anticipated.  She didn’t see Chris and she didn’t see Josh so she figured she would go through this one alone.  While she had Darby and John with her, she had hoped that there would have at least been someone else on her side versus the mourners that were there because of her parents.

Just as the service was about to begin, Josh arrived; she looked up at him and mouthed the word, ‘thank you.’ He nodded and pulled her close to him so she could lean into him slightly for support.    He placed his arm around her waist to help make sure she did not fall; it was a tender gesture that did not go unnoticed by the people around her. 

The pastor talked at length about her parents and what wonderful people they were.  She noticed he never mentioned that they were wonderful parents.  Her guess was that even he knew the truth and could not lie at their funeral.  She could hear a few sniffles and could tell that for several people in attendance the funeral was emotional; it just wasn’t for her.  She didn’t shed a tear and actually felt bad about it; just add it to the growing list of items she was struggling with. 

The chasm that had formed between her and her parents had never allowed for a reconciliation to take place.  She had regrets; she should have stood up to her parents and should have come back with Henry and introduced them to their grandson.  There were times through the years where she had wished she had just picked up the phone to hear their voices.  There would be no opportunity for that now and regrets would haunt her.  She also knew that there would be a special place in hell for a child who did not cry or mourn the loss of their parents.

The pastor did not do the traditional act of placing flowers on the casket.  He did allow for everyone to take a final pass to pay respects and a line began to form.  Mallory watched the crowd and even scanned to see if she noticed any familiar faces.  She acknowledged Mrs. Morgan and made her way over to her to thank her for all of her help in the last few days.  She knew that Mrs. Morgan would most likely miss her parents the most.  As she was walking back towards Josh she noticed his parents; they were standing by their car with a few people, all of whom had their backs to her.  She smiled in their direction but not approach them.  She was not sure what they knew and since they had been close friends with her parents she didn’t want to risk speaking with them.

She got back to Josh just as Darby and John   announced they were going to head back to the car and wait for her.  Since the air had chilled even more, they wanted to get their little girl in the car and warmed up.  As they walked off, Mallory grabbed Josh’s hand, “I really want to thank you for being here.  I didn’t realize how much I needed someone to lean on until you arrived.”

“You are welcome; look I realize we haven’t seen each other in years but you know I am here for you, right?”  He squeezed her hand, “I will call you in a day or so to see how you are and maybe we can get coffee or something.”

“That would be really nice.  Darby and John think I need to talk to Chris and tell him the truth you know.  I figure you should be kept up to speed on what happens since it will impact you and your relationship with him.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, I agree with them.  I think it is time to get it out there and with your parents gone and you both in town, it only makes sense.  If you need me to help you with talking to him, I can.  By the way, do you want me to go with you for the reading of the will?”

“No, John is going as my lawyer.  I am hoping he will catch all of the legal mumbo-jumbo I am going to tune out.”  She tried to force a smile, “That will not be easy to get through either but once that is done I can begin to move forward and go back to my life.”

“Well, just know that my offer stands.  If you need me, call me.”  He stepped forward and pulled her into an embrace.  After a minute, he stepped back and turned to talk to Henry who had been standing next to his mother.  “Henry, my man, you make sure you take care of your mom.  She is pretty special you know.”

“Yes sir, I know she is,” he said as he flashed her a brilliant smile, “She is pretty tough, too.” 

Josh put his arm around Henry and walked him a few steps away from his mother.  They appeared to be having a deep conversation but she could not hear what was being said.  He gave Henry a hug and ruffled the boy’s hair.  He looked back at Mallory and waved goodbye and walked towards the car where his parents were waiting for him. 

~ * ~

Josh got to the car and jumped in, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hold you up.”

As the car pulled away from the curb, Josh’s mother turned to look in the backseat, “It’s okay; how is she holding up?”

“You know I think she is doing amazingly well.  I am pretty sure she will end up breaking down, though; I think before heading home this will all hit her and she will have to deal with it. I told her to call me if she needs anything.  She has the reading of the will tomorrow.”

“I feel bad that she had had to go through this and she never made up with them before they died.  I cannot imagine what it must be like for her to bury two people she hasn’t talked to in twelve years.  Is she concerned with the will?  Does she think they left her anything?”

“I think she buried them in her mind years ago and that might be how she has been able to get through this.  I think she has resigned herself to thinking everything is going to charity.  I can only imagine though how she will react if that is in fact what they did; I am going to guess it would be painful. I just hope she is ready when the pain finally hits.”

“So how is Henry doing through all of this?”

“I think most of this is lost on him.  He never knew them so I don’t think he understands that in most families this would be upsetting.  He said he feels bad that he isn’t crying and he hates to see him mom sad.”

“Oh, she really does have a sweet boy.”

“Yeah, he is a great kid that is for sure.”

“Well, she is definitely lucky to have him,” she commented as she turned back around.

~ * ~

Chris completed the magazine interview and had just sat down in the living room to begin reading a stack of scripts.   The house was quiet and he wanted to make the most of this opportunity.  He had not been at it for very long when he heard the front door open.  He looked up to see his mom walk into the house.   He noticed she appeared quite somber and somewhat distracted as she entered the living room and discarded her coat across the back of the chair.  “Hey, are you okay?  I know you went to a funeral but you like you are rattled.  What’s going on?”

She looked up, at first almost surprised that he was sitting there.  Her pulse began to quicken and her heart began to hurt just a little more, “I really need to talk to you, I’m just not sure how to start.”

He sat the script he was reading off to the side and leaned forward; he was ready to listen but a little nervous as he had not seen his mom like this in a long time, “Okay, what’s going on.  Just say it, we can work through whatever it is.”

She slowly walked over to the couch and lowered herself onto the opposite end from where her son sat.  “So you know that I went to the funeral for the Turners this morning, right?  Well we were running behind and got there just as the service was getting ready to start.  As soon as Josh got out of the car he made a beeline for Mallory while we stayed near the back.  He stood next to her and put his arm around her.”

“Mom, I know they are friends and they have talked over the years.  That doesn’t really seem of any concern to me so it shouldn’t be to you.”

“I’m telling you, they were cozy.  He had his arm around her and she was leaning into him as if he was holding her up.  When the service was over they embraced, he kissed her cheek and they looked like lovers.” 

“I don’t think they are lovers; I think that they are close friends and as much as it should bother me, it doesn’t.   I am not quite sure that should upset you like it is.”

“There is more to it than that.  On the other side of where Mallory was standing was another couple.  Josh’s mom said they were friends of hers that came up to help her with the funeral.  They had two kids with them and when they walked off the boy, he looked to be eleven or twelve, well he stayed behind.”

“So there was a little boy holding her hand?  Where is this going mom?  I have to admit I am not following.”

“Mallory has a son; he has sandy blonde hair and is a very handsome little boy.  Josh had an intense conversation with him and hugged him.  There was a connection that I could see even though I wasn’t standing right next to them,” She turned and looked at her son, “I think the little boy is Josh’s and I think Mallory left you because she was pregnant with his child.”

Chris was beginning to feel sick; there is no way his best friend would have a son and would not have told him.  More importantly there was no way his best friend slept with his girlfriend and kept it secret this long.  “I think you have misread something mom...there is no way…no, I don’t buy it.”

“When Josh got back to the car and we drove off his mom asked all sorts of questions about Mallory and the boy.  They wanted to know how she was and how he was holding up.  It was evident they knew things about them and had a vested interest in them both; I think they said the little boy’s name is Henry.”

Chris just stared straight ahead, this couldn’t be happening and he hoped his mother was misunderstanding the situation.  He couldn’t form words or say anything but his blood was beginning to boil just a little.  After all, Josh had lied to him about talking to Mallory so maybe he had been lying about other things as well.

“Chris, I am sorry but I really believe that Josh and Mallory have a little boy.  The way he talked to him and interacted with him, there is no way he has never met him before.  I think that is why she left you and got out of town – she was pregnant with his baby.”  Chris got off the couch like he had been shot out of a cannon and disappeared up the stairs returning in a matter of a few seconds.  In his hand, he had his cell phone, wallet, and keys.

“Where are you going?”  His mother asked; desperation heavy in her voice.

“I’m going to talk to Josh and then I’m going to fire his ass.”

“You can’t drive if you are this upset, it isn’t safe. Please come back in here and calm down first.”

“I will just calm down and get upset again; I wouldn’t have thought my best friend would stab me in the back.  I’m going to handle it, though – right now!”

He slammed the front door behind him and drove directly to Josh’s apartment complex.  He drove way too fast and didn’t care.   All he could focus on was confronting Josh and getting the truth out of him.  He pulled into the parking lot and saw Josh’s car so he knew he would be home.  He took a deep breath to give him a minute to steel his nerves.  He then got out of the car and marched to the apartment and began banging on the door.

“Josh…I know you are in there, open the door!”

  



	7. Chapter 7

Seconds felt like minutes and when the door did not open, Chris began to bang on it again. “Open the damn door Josh – I know you’re in there!”

As he was prepared to begin in on the door again, it flew open and Josh stood in front of him, jeans only, no shirt. “What in the hell is your problem?” He could not hide his anger at the impatience his friend was showing.

“Oh, am I interrupting something? Let me guess, you have her hiding in the bedroom or did you put her in the bathroom?” He pushed himself past Josh to enter the apartment without being invited in.

“What are you talking about? And by all means come on in,” Josh retorted.

“Where is she?”

“Where is who? Seriously Chris what in the hell is going on?”

“Mallory, she’s here isn’t she? I mean I have obviously caught you at a most inopportune time,” the sarcasm and bitterness hanging off of each word.

“No, I’m telling you that no one is here. I just got home from the funeral and I was changing my clothes when you started assaulting the front door.”

“You know I never expected you to lie to me; not to the extent that you have when it comes to Mallory. All those years you told me you had no idea where she was and you knew the entire time. You were talking to her regularly,” Chris noticed a look of shock appear on Josh’s face, “No, wouldn’t expect you to tell me – she had to do it.”

Josh began to stutter and back up from where he had been standing, Chris was angry and he was starting to scare him a little, “She made me swear that I wouldn’t tell you.”

“So the fact that you have been one of my best friends since we were kids didn’t matter to you? You showed more loyalty to my ex-girlfriend that you were sleeping with than to me? Fucking brilliant, man. Oh, let me guess, you are going to deny sleeping with her, too.”

“”Hell yeah I am going to deny it – I am not sleeping with her.”

"You always had a crush on her – tell me did you stab me in the back first or did she?”

“Man I had a crush on her before she dated you and once you went out with her I stepped away from that. I would NEVER do that to you,” Josh’s explanation was cut short when Chris’ fist connected with his nose. He stumbled backward and put his hand to his face and felt the trickle of blood. “Dammit Chris, what was that for?”

“You are a liar! You slept with Mallory, got her pregnant and she left me,” He took another step toward Josh, “She was pregnant with your kid when she disappeared.” Josh’s eyes went wide; now this whole thing made sense. He did not even think about Lisa Evans being at the funeral or in the car. But he had no time to say anything because Chris’ fist connected with his face for a second time; this time, he was knocked down to the ground.

“She wasn’t pregnant with my kid,” Josh cried out as he was struggling to get to his feet, “Henry isn’t my son you asshole, he’s yours.”

Chris stopped, the room began to spin and he suddenly felt nauseous. He ran for the open apartment door and vomited in the bushes. He was doubled over and trying to comprehend the words that Josh had said.

Josh made it to his feet and went to the kitchen for paper towels; he wet them and began walking toward Chris. He said nothing but handed him a wet rag and then went inside to sit down and use the other on his face.

Chris finally composed himself enough to come back inside; softly closing the door behind him. He sat in a chair and leaned forward; trying to keep from being sick a second time.

“I’m sorry because you weren’t supposed to find out this way,” Josh offered quietly.

“You knew she was pregnant when she left? Please, Josh, tell me you didn’t know and kept that from me.”

“I didn’t know when she left, I swear to you. I didn’t find out about Henry until after he has been born,” Josh leaned forward and hung his head, “My parents were very good friends with the Turners and had gone over for dinner and cards one night. Mr. Turner’s sister called to tell them that Mallory had the baby and mother and child were doing well. Mr. Turner was angry and left the room while Mrs. Turner began to cry. She ended up telling my parents the entire story; that when they found out Mallory was pregnant they kicked her out and she ended up in Atlanta with her aunt. They disowned her and wanted nothing to do with her ever again.”

Josh took a moment to see if he could gauge Chris’ reaction to the words. Instead, his friend was stone-faced and emotionless. He decided that he should at least continue and get everything out there that he could.

“I gave it a few days and I tried calling her cell phone and, amazingly enough, she had not changed the number. She wouldn’t talk to me but she didn’t immediately hang up either. I would just talk, about how you missed her and we were all worried. After calling for months and being a one-sided conversation, she finally began to talk back. She asked about you and your movies and we talked about Henry. She never told me she was in Atlanta and I never let on that I already knew that. Eventually, she told me but it took a long time for her to trust me and open up. Every call, though, she asked about you.”

Chris looked up at Josh, noticing the bloodied towel and the bruising that was beginning to show on Josh’s face. For a moment, he felt bad and almost apologized but he remembered that while he might have punched him thinking he was the father of Mallory’s son, he was in fact, still angry that Josh had lied to him all these years.

“You’ve seen them over the years haven’t you?” The question was barely audible.

“Yeah, when you would be on break from a movie and I had a few days here and there, we would meet up. I took them to Disney one year, just for a couple of days. But usually, I would just fly into Atlanta and visit them there.”

Chris stood up and began pacing around the room, trying to form the questions in his mind. He was struggling to comprehend everything that Josh was saying. “So you got really close to her and you are telling me you never made a move?”

“No, never even made a move. You are my best friend and I know you are still crazy about her and don’t you dare try to deny it because if you weren’t you wouldn’t have come over her to kick my ass,” Josh smiled for the first time since he opened the door to Chris. “My relationship with her is the female version of my relationship with you. There are things you have told me that I have not mentioned to her and vice versa. I love her but not in the way you do.”

Chris looked at Josh and felt like his friend was really telling the truth. He began walking toward the door, put his hand on the handle and pulled it open. He spoke softly but did not have the strength to look at Josh, “I can appreciate that you were trying to protect her. But I am not sure I can get over this anger and I can’t promise I will forgive you or move past it.”

“I understand, I really do. And for what it’s worth, I am sorry because the last thing either of us wanted to do was hurt you.”

Chris quietly closed the door behind him and walked to his car.

~ * ~

When the service was over, Mallory had gone to lunch with Darby and John and the kids. They had returned home and Mallory was descending the stairs after changing her clothes when her phone chirped to indicate a text message had been received.

“He just left my place – his mom saw me with you and Henry – he knows the truth and he is very angry. Be prepared.”

No sooner had she finished reading the text when she noticed a car pulling into the drive; it was Chris. She quickly filled in John and Darby and the kids were told to stay upstairs. Mallory was frozen in position when the banging on the door started.

John opened the door and blocked the entrance to keep Chris from barging in, “I don’t know that it is a good idea for you to be here if you are angry. Wait until tomorrow so that things calm down.”

“No disrespect but I will not be any calmer tomorrow. I want to talk to her and I deserve the truth,” he looked around John’s head and looked directly into Mallory’s eyes, “I deserve the truth and you know it; just talk to me.”

Mallory slowly nodded her head and then spoke, “Let him in John, I don’t want to argue in the stairway where the sounds will carry upstairs. I really don’t want to have this conversation with the kids in the house.”

John let him in but he continued to place himself in between the two of them; he didn’t want there to be a physical altercation. While he figured Chris was not violent, with emotions running high anything was possible. They all walked into the living room to talk; this allowed for some privacy but also afforded a view of the stairs in case Henry felt like sneaking down.

Chris and Mallory took a stand at opposite sides of the living room; each was afraid to speak, Chris decided to break the tension. “I can respect that you would like to avoid this right now but I think I have been in the dark for twelve years too long. So tell me, is it true? Do we have a son?”


	8. Chapter 8

The tension in the room was measurable.  John and Darby knew that this was going to be hard for her to get through so they decided to stay.  John wanted to make sure he kept Chris back if he should get really angry and Darby wanted to be support for Mallory. 

She hung her head and exhaled sharply, “Yes.”

Chris ran his fingers through his hair and began pacing and taking deep breaths.  John watched him carefully and was worried he might be sick so he directed him to the couch where he could sit down and pull himself together.  He finally looked up at her, “Oh my God, how could you keep this from me for so long?”  The words were like knives cutting her.

“I am sorry Chris, you deserved to know but there was so much going on that you didn’t know and I didn’t know how to tell you,” he had her flustered and shew as not sure if she was making any sense.

“Well you have no excuses now, so how about telling me everything?  Make me understand so I am not so full of rage because right now I am finding it really hard to look at you.” 

Mallory was emotional and was not sure she could do this, but she had to try.   She took a deep breath, held it for a minute, and then let it slowly to begin her story, “When we started dating my parents liked you, but when they found out that you were going to pursue an acting career they changed their mind.  They were afraid I would quit school and give up my life and ambitions to follow yours.  They were afraid that if you didn’t make it as an actor we would be struggling and not living up to our potential.”

This conversation was harder than she had imagined, and she had imagined it!  For years she ran this conversation through her head and how he would react.  However, he wasn’t saying a word. Instead, he was leaning forward and had his head down as if he was just absorbing everything.

“We began having regular arguments about you and I had to tell them I was going to visit friends in order to see you.  I never had the courage to tell you about it; I kept it bottled up because I hoped they would change their minds. I tried telling them that you were a great guy and they were wrong about you and about your plans but they wanted no part of it.  I was their only child, Chris, and they had me on a pedestal that I would never deserve and never live up to,” She moved to take a seat in the armchair across from him.  She was afraid that she would not be able to stand and get through the entire story.

“I had been feeling really weird for a few days and a friend joked that maybe I was pregnant.  I laughed it off but since we had sex I began to get worried.  I went to the store and bought a pregnancy test but didn’t tell anyone; I thought we had been careful but evidently not because sure enough, the test was positive.  I didn’t know what to do and I was scared, so I told my mother because I thought we had the type of relationship where I could talk openly; I was wrong. She was angry and she immediately told my father who had a worse reaction than my mother. I was told I was a disgrace and whore; they wanted to know what they had done wrong to make me do this to them.”

She had to stop, her emotions were overload and telling him all of this was more than she thought she could take.  He looked up at her, just staring into her eyes and it was not helping.  She could not read his expression and it scared her.  She took the opportunity to look over at the stairs and make sure Henry was not there listening. She then started again, “They told me they wanted me to end the pregnancy or to get out of their house – the choice was mine. I told them ending the pregnancy was not even an option and that I’d tell you that I was pregnant and we would work this out. They wouldn’t accept that; my father said I would be an inconvenience to your career and you would leave me over this. I told him that he didn’t know you and he said that if you were such a great guy you wouldn’t have put me in this position in the first place. He spewed hateful things and while I didn’t believe him it still made me question whether I was right for you or not.”

For a minute, Chris was feeling sorry for her and what she went through. He realized it wasn’t just a case of her walking out of his life but being kicked out of her own. He was still angry but he was starting to feel compassion as well.

“I was confused and scared and didn’t know what to do. I was given a few hours to get my stuff and to be gone; they were really kicking me out. I packed up and had no idea where to go when my mother came into the room and gave me $500 and told me she made flight arrangements to go to Atlanta. My father had a sister there and she was willing to take me in.”

Mallory stood from the chair and walked to the other side of the room to grab a tissue. While she had held it together so far, she had a feeling once he started in on her she would need it. Plus it gave her a minute to gather her composure to continue. She walked back to stand behind the chair that she had been seated in. This offered more distance between the two of them; as if there wasn’t enough already.

“My aunt took me in and I transferred school. I cried every day; cried because of my parents, cried because I was scared, and cried because I missed you the most. My aunt echoed my father’s beliefs that it would not be a good idea to tell you. We had not been dating long enough and I would be something you would want to just go away.”

This is where the anger began to overtake the compassion; he stood up and ran his hands through his hair and she could tell he was stifling the urge to scream. He began to pace and every step was heavier than the last. He finally stopped and turned to her, “So you thought I would really turn my back on you? You really thought so little of me, Mallory?”

“Oh, you had no idea how much I was in love with you but I was 19 and you were 21 and I didn’t know how you would react. You were so desperate to get roles and I would be an inconvenience; actually, we would have been a burden because you were barely making ends meet so how were you going to take care of us?”

“So you wanted to be a martyr and take this on all by yourself. I didn’t need to know I was going to be a dad because you thought my career was more important? Do you hear what you are saying because you are spinning a righteous amount of bullshit right now!”

“You didn’t need to be tied down; you and I had been dating for nine months when I got pregnant. You weren’t ready to marry me and be a dad; you were still having fun and getting into trouble. Tell me you would have been good with this?”

“I don’t know if I would have been good with it but you never gave me a chance.”

“Fine, are you good with it now? I mean you have a hell of a playboy party boy image there, Cap – you ready for your fandom to explode because they find out you have a son? Or what, would you want to pay me off to keep it quiet so that your image stays intact?”

Darby takes this as her cue to step in, “Hey, there is a lot of emotion between the two of you right now and we need to keep things calm and quiet so that Henry does not come down to see what is going on.”  She looked at both of them and they were nodding in agreement so she knew they were all on the same page.  “May I offer that we change the perspective a bit?  Chris you have heard her say what led up to her to leaving but do you see it from her side or only on your own?”

“I don’t follow, sorry.”

“You are seeing how her leaving impacts you and I don’t think you see everything she was going through.  And before you ask, yes I am a therapist and this is what I do for a living,” She said with a sly grin.  She took a few steps forward and positioned herself directly in between the two of them.  She turned and faced Chris, “I think it is fair to say that Mallory has some regret over what happened.  I have no doubt that you are angry and you have every right to be; but can you, at least, try to see things from her side?” 

“I can acknowledge that she was in a tough position and I have to say I cannot imagine what it must have been like for her parents to turn their back on her.  I just can’t imagine what I did to her that made her not tell me and to think I didn’t need to know.”

“Again, trying seeing from her side.  If the roles were reversed and you had something big to tell Mallory and it could impact the career she had been working so hard to have, would you tell her?” He didn’t respond; he had to look away because tears began to prick his eyes.  “She was nineteen, scared, and had just been kicked out of her family so that was a lot for someone to digest and process.  Tell me, when she left where were you and what was going on?”

“I had just finished a movie and was home for a few weeks and then I had another movie to shoot.  I would be gone for 3 months or so.”  It was starting to click, he got what Darby was wanting him to see. “She had nowhere to go and then I was going to be gone and she would be alone.”  He hung his head and when he looked back at her, well her eyes said it all.

 “You know if you would have told me...,” He trailed off for a moment before coming back strong, “I could have moved you in with mom and you wouldn’t have been alone.  I would have been home on breaks in filming and I would have been there for you.”

“I was afraid of your reaction and frankly a little scared of hers.  Chris, you and your mom are tight and if she was not thrilled about my pregnancy then you wouldn’t have been either.  You can deny that all you want but her approval means more to you than anything else.”

“It would have been our pregnancy and not yours.  And yes, my mom’s approval and support is very important to me but so were you.”

Mallory walked over to the large picture window next to the fireplace; she looked out over the yard and how pristine it looked with the snow glistening in the moonlight.  It gave her a sense of calm and peace while her mind raged on regarding the mess her life had become.  She knew all eyes were on here; she could feel them burning into the back of her head. 

Finally, without turning around, she spoke.  Her voice was flat, no emotion, the fight was out of her by this point. “I needed guidance and instead, I got a one-way ticket out of my family and all I had ever known.  I didn’t leave to be malicious or hurtful; I left because at the time I thought it was the right thing to do – for you and for me.”  

She could see their reflections in the glass.  John had moved over next to Darby and Chris was alone on the couch; in the familiar position of his elbow on his knees as he leaned forward.  This was his serious ‘I’m listening and thinking’ position.

“I have never stopped loving you; I think I love you more every day when I look at Henry and see you in his eyes.  I have followed your career and gone to your movies.  And, yes, I regularly talked to Josh.  I would check to see how you were doing because I worry about you and I won’t apologize for that.  I have read the articles and seen the paparazzi pics of you out and about with women.  I had no reasonable expectations that you still thought of me.  Don’t get me wrong, I hoped you did but realistically I knew you didn’t.”

At this point, the conversation was beginning to make Darby and John uncomfortable.  Mallory was pouring her soul out and telling Chris the things they had known for years; she didn’t need an audience or referees for this.  They quietly exited the room and elected to go upstairs to make sure everyone was still down for the count.


	9. Chapter 9

Mallory quietly watched the reflection of John and Darby ascend the stairs. She had anticipated that they would feel uncomfortable if the conversation moved towards feelings versus the facts of her disappearance. She knew she should not ask this but had to know; she didn’t look at him, instead, she still stared out the window, “Were you honestly that upset when I left? Have you even thought about me over the years?”

He was surprised she asked and now it was his turn to be honest, “I guess Josh never told you?” 

She slowly shook her head, “I guess he held things back from both of us.”

“I was so angry and hurt when you left. I couldn’t understand what happened and I was desperate to find you. I came to talk to your parents; they told me that you were angry with them and you left. They didn’t give me details and they had no idea where you were, or so they said. I called every day for weeks to see if they had heard from you and every time the answer was the same. After a month, your father told me to never call back and to just move on.”

“I had no idea, there was no way for me to know.”

“I realize that now, but back then I was sure they knew more than they were saying. I went to LA and made my movie and started dating. I had a long relationship with someone; she cheated on me and told me that she felt as if I had been cheating on her all along because I couldn’t quit thinking of you.”

“So it is my fault that you broke up with Jessica?”

He had a wry chuckle, “Yeah, I guess so. She just knew I had a bad breakup and that I wasn’t able to let go,” at that Chris smiled for the first time that evening. “Josh knew I wanted to know where you were. I had asked him several times if he had heard from you and he always told me that he hadn’t. I had no reason to suspect that he was lying to me. When I would come home during breaks in filming or when I had time off, I looked for you. Figuring you were still here somewhere.” 

She finally turned from the window in order to look at him; she was stunned to hear him say that he missed her and wanted to know where she had gone. She was also a little angry that Josh had kept that quiet all these years. She hurried to look back out the window, not completely sure she could handle looking at him. 

“Are you worried about your image if this gets out? I mean, are you worried about how the press will handle it and what your fans will think?” There was a slight twinge of bitterness in her voice; even if she didn’t mean for it to happen.

“Quit worrying about my image. But don’t worry I am not planning on a press release and a magazine spread to tell the world I have a son. I don’t want him in the press at all. I won’t deny him but I won’t admit to him either; not because I am ashamed but because I want him and you protected. I don’t talk about my private life to the press and you know that if you have been following me like you said.”

Chris was blunt in regards to his concerns or lack thereof for his image. She was not surprised when he said he wanted to protect Henry but she was not expecting him to say he would protect her. She wasn’t going to get her hopes up; she figured he needed her to be protected ultimately because of Henry and not because he was concerned for her. His admission took a moment to set in and it delayed her response back to him. “I told you I have followed your career and I know you are very tight-lipped about your relationships. I wouldn’t expect for you to put Henry in the spotlight.”

“Yeah, well I hate it when the paparazzi follow me and I am not thrilled when fans stalk me when I am out. I don’t like it when pictures are taken of my family; especially my nephews and niece – they didn’t sign up for their photos to be plastered all over the internet. I don’t want Henry to be a victim of that – he can’t help what I do for a living.”

“So from the way you are talking you want to be an active part of his life going forward?”

“Are you kidding? Would I be arguing with you about this entire situation if I was going to turn my back and walk away?”

He had a point; why would he argue, fuss, and fight about this entire scenario if he didn’t want to be involved. “I guess I didn’t think you were ready for the responsibilities of becoming a father to a twelve-year-old. Yeah, before you say it, I know you wish you had the chance from birth.”

He sat quietly, he knew he should respond to her comment but all it would do is work him up even more. He had something else he wanted to know, “Mallory, if you were talking to Josh all that time and you knew I wasn’t involved with anyone, why didn’t you reach out to me?”

“If I had reached out to you early in your career I felt like I would be a burden. But as you did more movies and became a bigger star, I was afraid I would be seen as a gold digger trying to get in on the action. I was in a damned if you, damned if you don’t position.” She turned and looked at him and their eyes locked, the old spark was still there and she ached to be able to reach out and touch him.

“I want to meet him and I realize what that will mean for both of us. But I want him to know me and I want him to meet the rest of his family.”

“I am taking him back to Atlanta; we aren’t staying here.”

“Why? With your parents gone you can stay in this house and have your life here.”

“My life is in Atlanta – my job is there, Henry’s school is there and his friends. I can’t just pick up and move because you want me to. I have the reading of the will tomorrow for them to officially tell me they left me nothing; this house will go up for sale and I will no longer have a tie to Boston.”

“I would be your tie to Boston and you would have support here to help with Henry.”

She turned and glared at him, “So you want me to leave my life and everything I have worked for over the last twelve years to move back here so it is convenient for you to see Henry. Look, I get you think I am a bitch for not telling you but why do I need to give up my world for your convenience? Henry isn’t the only one in this equation and I have done a damn fine job raising that boy on my own and I am not asking for support and not planning on pawning him off.”

He didn’t anticipate this reaction from her; the tables had turned and he had gone from the wildly angry one to the one being attacked. He had not intended to upset her like this. He took a moment to select his words carefully, “I am not, in any way, indicating that you are a bad mother. But baby you have been doing this on your own for years and now that the truth is out, you will have an opportunity to not be alone in this. Let me and my family get to know him and give you a break; it doesn’t mean you are pawning him off. Yes, it would be more convenient if you were here. For me to see him and for the rest of the family to help you.”

She just stared at him, blinking and trying to digest what he said. “Did you call me baby?”

He chuckled and gave her that beautiful smile that could melt her heart, “Yeah, I guess I did. I don’t want to fight with you, not anymore. It has been a long day for you and emotional for both of us I don’t want to have a contentious relationship with you. I want to find a peaceful and happy medium but I am serious about wanting to meet Henry.”

“Fine, I don’t want to fight with you either. You’re right it has been an emotional and long day and tomorrow I have to go to the reading of the will so that this mess is officially over. I really want to take a hot shower, drink a bottle of wine and go to bed,” she said laughing and then “Wait, I don’t want to give you the impression I am a heavy drinker and then you think I am an unfit mother.”

He laughed heartily this time, “I did not think you were a heavy drinker but honestly, after today I could use a drink or two myself. Will you give me a call tomorrow so we can make plans to meet up?”

“Yeah, I’ll call you when I get home from the lawyer’s office.”

He stood up and moved towards her and pulled her into an embrace. He held on to her tightly and said nothing for a long moment. He then stepped back and kissed her forehead, “Look, it is fair to say that it will take some time for me to forgive or truly get past this but I am willing to try. And I do mean it when I say that I am happy to see you and you are just as beautiful as I remember.” He then turned and left the house; she heard the click of the front door and finally released her breath.


	10. Chapter 10

Mallory opened her eyes and realized she had never moved from the position she was in when she had first gone to bed; sleep had overtaken her quickly. She checked her cellphone for the time and noticed it was 6:00 am – the earliest she had awakened in the last week. She showered and dressed quickly then headed downstairs to put on a pot of coffee. She sat at the kitchen table while waiting for the coffee to brew and stared out the window. So much happened yesterday and her mind was replaying it all like a movie. The coffee pot beeped to indicate the brew cycle was complete; as she walked to the cabinet she heard footsteps on the stairs. It was Darby coming downstairs to join her for coffee and girl talk while John and the kids were still sleeping.

Darby waited a few moments before finally speaking up, “So, did you two come to some sort of agreement last night?”

Mallory took a long sip of her coffee, “No, no agreement but he told me he wants to meet Henry and wants us to move to Boston. He thinks it would be good for Henry to meet the entire family and to be here in town where he can spend time with them. Says it would give me a break or whatever.”

“And you don’t like that idea?”

“I don’t need a break from raising my son; so hell no I don’t like the idea. I don’t need to pawn him off and I have a job and Henry has friends and loves school. Why would I want to move away from all of that?”

“Well I wasn’t in the room and I can’t speak for Chris but I am going to guess he wasn’t trying to imply that you want to pawn Henry off. I would venture to guess that after parenting for twelve years on your own that you might want some help. You can’t deny that from time to time you wish you had some free time. I know you love that boy but he does consume all of your time.”

“Well, yeah, he does but I knew that was a sacrifice I would be making when I had him. Sure, there are probably some instances where I have missed out on something because of Henry and not having anyone to help but I wouldn’t trade any of it. I don’t want Chris, or his family, thinking I am looking for an opportunity to hand my kid off and go party.”

“I don’t think he thinks that; I am guessing he wants to spend time with him and if you benefit, so be it,” Darby took a drink of her coffee and played with the handle of the cup. “You know you need to let Henry decide what to do. He needs to meet Chris and he needs to determine if he wants to spend time with him and how he will do it. I know you always make decisions with him in mind but this is one time where you have to listen to what he wants. Don’t run the risk of losing him because you push in the wrong direction.”

“Damn you, why do you have to constantly whip out the therapy shtick on me?” Mallory smiled, knowing that her best friend was right even if she didn’t want to admit it.

“Ok, let me change the subject so that we don’t end up fighting. How did you sleep last night? I know the last few days you have tossed and turned but you are up early today and seem like your shoulders might be lighter.”

“Yeah, I think getting it off my chest and not hiding it from him helped. I think the fact that the funeral is over is part of it too. This has been harder than I think I wanted to admit.”

A moment later Henry came down the stairs and joined them in the kitchen. The conversation about last night stops and Mallory takes the opportunity to hang out with Henry. She knew that after Chris was introduced as his father that her life with Henry would never be the same. She was scared of what might happen and began to worry that Henry would be angry with her for keeping this secret. She was so lost in thought that she did not hear John calling her name and indicating it was time to go.

As they drove to the lawyer’s office, Mallory was uncharacteristically quiet. Normally she was chatty and cheerful but it was quite evident that the events of the last week had taken a toll. As she parked the car John reached over and took her hand.

“Look, no matter what happens in here and with Chris, it is important that you know that Darby and I are there for you. We have your back and we love you; no judgment on our part you know that.”

“Thank you, John that means the world to me. I am afraid that my life will never be the same and I am terrified of what will happen next.”

The two of them walked into the office and were seated in a conference room. Her parent’s attorney, Charles Conner entered a few moment later. Introductions were made and he sat down and opened a binder in front of him. “Ms. Turner I am going to provide you a copy of the document but unless you have any objections I will give you the highlights versus going through all of the legal jargon. Is there any objection to this?” Mallory and John both shook their heads; this would allow for the reading to go much faster. “Great, as you may or may not be aware, your parents were still working full time at the time of their deaths. Your parents had a substantial retirement savings plan in addition to their life insurance policies and the monies within their checking and savings accounts. There is also the matter of the property – both their home and office locations were paid in full and are part of their estate. As their attorney, I was aware of the estrangement between you and your parents and I am with the understanding that they had not spoken to you for a period of twelve years. Is this correct?”

There was a lump in her throat and she quietly answered, “Yes that is correct.”

“Two years ago your parents made some significant changes to their will and their policies. This is the information that I will be presenting to you today.” He took a deep breath and began turning the pages of the binder. “The insurance policies, there were two for each parent, had the provision to double in the event that the deaths were an accident. I have been informed that the police no longer have concerns over criminal involvement in the accident. The accident was, in fact, an accident and the total payout for the four policies will be $400,000. The two policies for your father, Jackson Turner, in the total amount of $200,000 is bequeathed to a scholarship fund established for Christopher Henry Turner. This scholarship fund remains in a trust that can only be accessed by the executor of the estate at the time Mr. Turner is ready to begin college or turns eighteen years of age – whichever comes first.”

Mallory began to shake; money had been provided for Henry? Why had they changed their mind and, more importantly, why had they not reached out to her? John noticed that she was shaking and reached for her hand.

“I have been named as the executor so I will work with you on the payout of the trust at the time Henry begins college. I am correct, he goes by Henry and not Christopher correct?” She nodded her head in agreement, unable to form words. “The two policies for your mother, Madeline Turner, in the total amount of $200,000 is bequeathed to their daughter, Ms. Mallory Elizabeth Turner. These funds are to be made available immediately and comes with no restrictions.” Charles reached inside the binder and pulled out a check and slid it across the table to Mallory.

She did not reach for it, she was still not sure what was happening and was positive that she was imagining this; John squeezed her hand.

Charles went back to the binder to continue, “The house, which is paid for, is bequeathed to you Ms. Turner as is the property for their law office. The provision is that their clients be transferred to their law partner, Mr. Thomas Masters, and he is to be given an opportunity to purchase the office location. If he elects to move to another location, the building is to be sold and the earnings from the sale will be yours entirely. The monies within their checking and savings accounts are to be used to cover funeral expenses while the majority of the expenses for the gravesite had been purchased during their pre-planning. Any proceeds that are remaining will be provided to the American Cancer Society as that was their charity of choice.”

Charles took a moment to stop and assess how Mallory was holding up. He noticed that her shaking had subsided and she was holding up remarkably well. He took a sip from his water bottle and continued. “The retirement account is being transferred into your name Ms. Turner. There is a payment to be made to my office in the amount of $1500 for the work done in the execution of the will. This includes the paperwork filed for their policies and the legal work required for the property deeds, etc. That payment can be made out of the retirement funds without a penalty. Provisions can be made to set up an account to cover any legal costs down the road due to the execution of the will. I would highly recommend that the bulk of the money be rolled over into a retirement plan for tax purposes. At this time do you have any questions?”

She could not speak, this was all overwhelming. She was positive she was coming to this meeting to find that nothing was left to her and everything went to charity. She kept shaking her head in disbelief. Finally, the words came to her, “Why did they change their mind? Please fill me in because I don’t understand.”

Charles smiled, he knew she would ask. “Your father, it was all him. He had talked to your aunt prior to her death and she shared how strong you were. That you were a good mother to Henry and that your parents had not given you enough credit. You had finished school, had a good job, and loved that boy with everything you had. Your father began to feel remorse and although he wanted to mend fences, he was not sure he could go through with it. When his sister died; he figured that he needed to take steps to reconcile even if he couldn’t reach out to you just yet. So, before it was too late, he wanted to change the will.”

Charles turned to the back of the binder and pulled out a sealed envelope. He pushed it across the table and Mallory recognized her father’s writing. “He wrote this letter to you when the will was changed. He figured if he couldn’t say the words to you, he should, at least, put them in writing. I hope you will find that this brings a little peace,” He stood, closed the binder and pushed it across the table to John. “This is her copy as I have a copy on file. Take your time here and let me know if I can do anything for you.”

John stood and extended his hand, “Thank you, Mr. Conner, we appreciate your help.”

Mallory finally found the strength to stand and extended her hand as well, “Thank you for everything.” When he left the room she collapsed back into the chair and stared at the check and the envelope on the table. After giving it some thought, she picked up the envelope, folded it in half, and placed it in her purse. She put the check in her wallet and continued to stare ahead.

“Mallory, are you going to be alright?” John asked cautiously.

“I don’t know, I mean I never would have anticipated that they would have changed their will. I was prepared for this to be over and that I would get nothing. Is this their final act so that I can go through the rest of my life with guilt?”


	11. Chapter 11

Chris had been able to wake and get out of the house before anyone saw him.  The clock on the gym wall said 5:00 am as he stepped on the treadmill for his warm up.  He hated being up this early but he wasn’t sleeping so he might as well do something constructive.  He was still full of anger and emotion from the night before and figured he should go to the gym to work it out.  He had months before he had to begin working out for the next Captain America movie so his workout regimen was very relaxed right now.  But he figured it would be better to focus on the pain of the workout versus the pain of betrayal. 

His workout was intense, he paid no attention to any of the other people in the gym.  He was hoping that he wasn’t recognized and that videos and pictures would not pop up on the internet of his workout but he wasn’t going to police the room.  He didn’t pay attention to any of the clocks on the wall until he stepped onto the treadmill to cool down, it was 8:30 am.  He figured that everyone should be gone from the house and it should be safe to go back home.  His emotions were running high last night and lost in it all was the anger he held for his mother.  She had stuck her nose in where it didn’t belong and misread a situation.  Then she told him all about it and got him worked up and now he had a mess on his hands with Josh and with Mallory.    He was not sure that he would be able to contain his emotions if his mom was still at the house; unfortunately, though, he was about to find out because her car was still in the driveway.

He entered the house and began moving deftly up the stairs when he heard her voice, “Chris, is that you?” 

“Yes, I’ve been at the gym so I need a shower first.”  He didn’t wait for her to respond and kept walking.  He took a long, hot shower and tried to figure out exactly what to say to her when he went back downstairs.  The hot water felt good but he knew he was just delaying the inevitable.

As he descended the steps he noticed that his mom was sitting in the living room, facing the stairs.  There was no way he was going to be able to avoid her.   She was waiting to pounce and he just kept repeating to himself to stay calm.

“You got in late last night and I didn’t get a chance to talk to you,” she said, keeping her voice low and calm.  “Did you work things out with Josh?”

“Look, I know you want me to spill my guts but right now I am not really in the mood,” he snapped.

“What happened?”  She seemed truly shocked at the venom in his voice.

“What happened?  Well let’s start with the fact that you misread the situation and I beat up my best friend for no reason,” he stared at her with anger in his eyes.  “But hey, you did get one thing right; Mallory has a twelve-year-old son.”

“I knew it,” she felt vindicated, “She was too close to that little boy for him not to be hers.  So he confirmed she cheated on you and walked away to hide it.”

“No, this is where your assumption bit me in the ass.  She didn’t cheat on me but she was pregnant when she was kicked out of her house and walked away from me.” 

Lisa Evans was suddenly confused, “Well wait, so if she didn’t cheat and she was pregnant…,” she trailed off as the lightbulb went off.  “Oh my God, Chris are you saying her little boy is your son?”

He said nothing, he finally finished coming down the steps and entered the living room, throwing himself into the closest chair and sat quietly for a minute.  Finally, he spoke up, “I confronted Josh, actually punched him for lying to me and for sleeping with my girlfriend.  And to my surprise, he drops the bomb that Henry is my son and not his.  He told me about Mallory and what he knew about the situation.  I left his apartment and went to her house to confront her; she confirmed what Josh had said.  I have a son.”

His mom sat quietly, watching the emotions play across his face, “Oh, Chris, I am not sure whether I should say I’m sorry or congratulations.”

“I think both are equally appropriate,” he said with a glare in his eyes, “She told me she was going to tell me the truth before she left so it didn’t have to go the way it did.  Now my relationship with my best friend is a mess and I can’t even say what this means for me and Mallory.  Not to mention that  I now have to meet my son and hope he wants to have me in his life.  And to top it off, I am not even sure if we can work on arrangements for me to see Henry because she refuses to discuss moving back to Boston.”

“What, why would she refuse to move back?  You have rights to your son and we will fight her to make sure she does not block you.”

“She knows I have rights and we haven’t even had a civilized discussion about any of this yet,” He stood up, “Look I don’t want to talk about this anymore right now; I’m still angry and I’m trying to sort out my emotions.  I just need some space and would appreciate it if you would not tell everyone else – I’ll make the announcement and introduce him when I am ready.”

His mother nodded her head in agreement and she could tell her son was rattled by this entire scenario.  It was also killing her he asked her not to talk to anyone about it, but she knew he was angry at her and she was not about to rock the boat any more than she already had.

Chris had gone into the kitchen and made a cup of coffee and retreated back upstairs.  He was serious that he didn’t want to talk and he figured he would keep himself occupied with scripts while he waited for Mallory to call after the reading of the will.

~ * ~

It took a few minutes for Mallory to gain her composure; the reading of the will had certainly not been what she had anticipated.  John left the room to give her some privacy and allow her to read her letter if she wanted, but she didn’t have the courage to do that just yet.  Her mind was swimming with uncertainty; she had truly anticipated that she would bury her parents and find out they left her nothing and she would go back to Atlanta.  She didn’t plan on seeing Chris, didn’t plan on him finding out about Henry, and didn’t plan on having her parents include her in their will after all these years.  It was too much to bear but she was not going to break down, at least not in the lawyer’s office anyway.  She pulled herself together and walked out of the room and walked to the car.    

She had elected to remain quiet for the first half of the drive home.  She didn’t want to discuss the will with John and then repeat it all with Darby so it was best to stay quiet.  However, as they got closer to home, Mallory got out her phone and sent a text.  Upon receiving the response, she asked John to drive her to Josh’s apartment and drop her off.

“If I need to come and get you, just give me a call,” John offered as he pulled out of the drive.  She waved goodbye and began walking up the pathway to Josh’s door.

She knocked softly and he opened the door almost immediately, he had evidently been watching for her.  “Hey, come on in,” he said as he stepped to the side to give her clearance.

She said nothing and walked in slowly but turned suddenly when she heard the door click.  Her voice was stern, “Do you want to explain to me what happened last night and how in the hell you came to tell Chris about Henry?”  She took a breath and looked up and got a good look at Josh’s face and suddenly softened, “Oh my God, did he do that to you?”

Josh smirked, he found it amusing that she went from one extreme to the other in the blink of an eye.  “Yeah, do you like?  I think it will be all the rage this year; does wonders for my look I think.”  He was trying to play it off but she wasn’t letting it go.

She walked over and softly touched his cheek, “I’m sorry that you got that because of me.”  She quickly pulled her hand back, afraid she might hurt him.    “Did he just come in throwing punches?  What happened?”  She asked as she moved to take a seat on the couch.

Josh sat down next to her, “I totally forgot that his mother came to the funeral with us.  I didn’t even give it a second thought when we picked her up, I was just thinking of getting there and being there for you.”

“I didn’t realize she was friends with my parents,” she commented, her curiosity was evident.

“She wasn’t really and I think she came strictly to see you so she could report back to Chris.  My parents knew everything since they were friends with your parents and they knew I was talking to you.  So it had never crossed my mind to be careful with you yesterday.”  He ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath, “Evidently she witnessed my interaction with Henry and then when I got back in the car and my mom asked questions about how you guys were doing, well, Lisa made an assumption based on that information.”

“So she didn’t have the entire story but she told Chris her version?  Wow! That was certainly bold.”

“He came over here all worked up and of course, he catches me when I am changing my clothes.  He immediately thinks he has interrupted me doing something or someone and accuses me of hiding you in the apartment and wants to know how long I’ve been sleeping with you.”

“What?” She exclaimed, turning to look at him, “He thinks we are sleeping together?”

“He wanted to know which one of us betrayed him first and wanted to know if you were pregnant with my son when you left.  He had it in his mind that you cheated on him with me, got pregnant, and that is why you left him.  I guess when he found out we have been in touch over the years he thinks we are still together.  He threw a punch because he thought I was lying to him.”

“Josh that black eye isn’t from one punch and since he didn’t have a mark on him last night, I guess you didn’t get to throw one in return?”

“Have you seen Chris?  I mean he is a little more muscular than I am so, no, I didn’t get to return a punch.  He hit me a couple of times and to get his attention I told him that Henry is his son and not mine.”  Josh hung his head and then moved forward with the rest of the story, “He was shocked and the news made him sick, literally.  I didn’t want to tell him and I am sorry but I had to stop him from beating the shit out of me.”

“You have no reason to apologize and I mean that.  Really I owe you an apology because it is my fault that he hit you in the first place.  Me and my damn secret.”

“He came to see you last night, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, he showed up just as I finished reading your text message.  He wanted to know if what you said was true; about Henry being his son and then he wanted to know why I never told him,” her emotions were bubbling to the surface and she was afraid the dam would break and the tears would flow.  She took a few deep breaths in the hopes of staving off the tears.

“How bad was it?”

“Well, it wasn’t good.  He demanded to know the truth and I had no choice, so, I told him the entire story.  I have no idea if he believed what I told him or what he thinks about it all.  Hell, I am not even sure if he completely comprehends it all.”

“Did he argue with you when you were telling him everything?”

“No, not at first; he just listened.  But that changed and he got angry.  It got heated and then calmed down and then got heated again and then calmed down,” she looked down at her lap, “You know he wants to meet Henry and be a part of his life and he wants me to move back to Boston so that Henry will be close to family.”

“Are you serious?  So he wants to be an active part of Henry’s life?”

“Yeah, apparently he does.  I am shocked about it as you are; I mean he could easily walk away and not have to worry about this.  I didn’t have any intention of him finding out about this.  My God I am a horrible person.”

“No, you aren’t a horrible person.  This is just a lot to process and decisions were made for you years ago and it is not something you figured you would have to deal with.  So, is  he not really fazed by the idea of having a son?”

“Oh, I’m not sure it’s completely settled in yet and I don’t think he understands the ramifications of this. I made a comment about what this will do to his image and he didn’t like that.”

“He won’t do anything to jeopardize Henry being in the spotlight, Mallory.  Think what you want of him but he will protect Henry.”

“Sure, like he protects Miles and Ethan when they are at Disney?  I don’t want people whispering about Henry or following him around.  He is a normal kid and I want him to stay that way.”

“He isn’t a normal kid, he is the son of a movie superhero and that can’t be changed.”

“I know but I don’t want him to be talked about online and for people to speculate about him.  And you know I will have a target on my back,” She turned away from Josh for a moment, “He asked me why I never reached out to him when I knew he wasn’t dating.”

“What did you tell him?”

“That I was afraid that at this point in his career he would think I was a gold digger and I was after him for money.”

“Did you come clean and tell him you are still in love with him?”  She didn’t answer, she couldn’t because it hurt too much to repeat the words.  But, Josh knew from watching her that she had told him in some form.

“Josh, in all of our years of talking we have never really talked about this and it has always bugged me a little – you knew my feelings for Chris and you knew he was single, why didn’t you suggest that he call me?  I mean, I guess as this all comes to light it is only fair that I ask.”

“I couldn’t bring you up without giving up the fact that I had been talking to you.  I wanted to tell him, several times I came really close but it would have gone against you telling me to keep our friendship quiet.”

“Well, you could have asked for my permission to tell him,” she said, somewhat indignant.

“Look, you are upset and I get it but don’t project your anger on me.  The two of you are adults and for heaven sake you could have gotten over your damn egos and found a way to get together if you really wanted to,” Josh didn’t mean for his voice to be raised but the idea of them arguing over this was ridiculous.  “Don’t waste an opportunity to reconnect with him, Mallory.  You have been in love with him for years and he has never gotten over you.  Find a way to work this out – or don’t – but either way, you will have to live with the decision and you might not get a chance to go back and do it over.”

She knew he was right and a lump formed in her throat, the reality of this entire situation was settling in and she realized that Chris might not be the only one who was not fully comprehending the situation.  When she finally got the courage to speak again she spoke honestly about her fears, “Josh, I this entire situation scares the hell out of me but what terrifies me the most is telling Henry the truth.  I have deflected and refused to answer questions about his father over the years and he will hate me, I know it.  I’m afraid he will never forgive me and I worry about losing him more than losing another chance with Chris.  I won’t be able to survive if he wants to spend all of his time with Chris and never forgives me.”

Josh moved closer to her and put his arm around her, pulling her towards him, “I think you are getting yourself worked up; it is fair to think that he might be hurt and confused but he won’t hate you.  Has he ever told you he hates you for not talking about his dad?  He asks and you don’t answer and it hasn’t caused an issue for you yet.  My only advice will be to tell him everything; Henry goes from being a typical kid to being mature for his age and I think he is old enough to understand the situation.”


	12. Chapter 12

Josh and Mallory decided to continue their conversation over lunch; they didn’t go anywhere fancy, just a little sandwich shop near his apartment. They kept the conversation light and tried to talk about anything and everything with a conscience effort to avoid any further discussion about Chris. It was an opportunity for them to distract each other from the mess they were in and go back to just being two friends who were catching up. When they finished eating they agreed to get together one more time before she went back to Atlanta.

Josh drove Mallory back to the house and made sure she knew that he was there if she needed him. She thanked him and got out of the car and walked to the front door. She knew she had to call Chris and she needed to steel her nerves to do so.

She noticed the van was not in the driveway and when she got walked in the house she noticed how quiet it was; there was a note on the entryway table.

“We decided to go out to get pizza, goof off, and sightsee. Will be back later – call Chris and get it over with it! Quit stressing out!”

She couldn’t help but smile; she had no idea what she had done to deserve friends like this. She had guilt over not spending much time with Henry but was thankful that her friends were there to help out with keeping him occupied. Between the guilt for not spending time with Henry and the fear of introducing him to his father, her nerves were frayed. Even though it was early, she figured liquid courage was needed to get her through a phone call with Chris. She went to the kitchen, poured a glass of wine and sat at the dining room table to make the call.

He answered the phone almost immediately as if he was sitting on it waiting for her call, “Hello!”

“Hi, I’m not catching you at a bad time am I?”

Chris sat up straight, “No, not at all. I take it you are home from the reading of the will?”

She took a drink before answering, “Yeah, just got home and I had told you I would call you,” she didn’t really know what to say or how to handle this conversation.”

“Well, thanks for calling me,” he stammered before continuing, “I was hoping that I might be able to persuade you to go to dinner with me tonight so that we could continue our conversation from last night,” he had never been so nervous when asking a woman out.

“Well, I agree we need to talk but I am not sure about doing it in public,” she answered hesitantly.

“I figured you would say that and you are right. So, I called a friend and reserved us a private dining room at his restaurant.”

She took another drink; she had not anticipated that he would have thought ahead like that. “Ok, that sounds like it would be a nice alternative.”

“Great, I’ll pick you up at 7, will that work?”

“Um, sure, that works,” she responded.

They said their goodbyes and she hung up the phone and immediately began to worry about what she would wear. She went up to her room and began flipping through the clothes that she brought, trying to find the perfect outfit. She knew it was ridiculous to be this worked up about how she would look but she couldn’t help it. Twenty minutes later her wardrobe was selected and she began to get ready.

As she put the finishing touches on her makeup she heard the front door open and she realized John and Darby had returned with the kids. She finished getting ready and began to descend the stairs when she heard Henry, “Wow! Mom, you’re dressed up, you got a date?”

“Well, as a matter of fact, I do,” she smiled as she gave him a hug. “I am really just going to dinner with an old friend.”

“Is it an old boyfriend?” He teased, clearly enjoying the banter with his mom.

She blushed, “Um…yeah, he is an old boyfriend.”

“Aw, how sweet mom has a date. Have fun!” He said as he sprinted into the other room.

Darby looked at her friend carefully, “So, you and Chris are going out tonight?”

“Yes, we are. I called him when I got home and he asked if I would have dinner with him tonight; he wants to continue our conversation from last night.”

“In a public place, are you insane?” John asked, somewhat bewildered, “As heated as you were last night do you think this is a good idea?”

“No, not entirely but we are having dinner in a private dining room at a restaurant his friend owns. We won’t be in public view so I agreed to go. It isn’t like we can talk here and I am not sure of his living arrangement but I am going to guess he is with his mom – so that is a bad idea as well.”

“Well, I think it is a positive step that you are going to talk to him. And you look nice but not too nice; sexy but refined, I think he will be impressed.”

John chimed in, “You look beautiful and a hell of a lot better than when you saw him last night. You will knock his socks off.”

“Thanks,” she said sheepishly, “I wasn’t really going for any of that.”

“So you didn’t obsess about what to wear and how you would look? You don’t think I really believe that do you?”

She began to laugh, “Ok, yeah so maybe I did worry about how I would look. I’m going to dinner with a movie star; I can’t look like a boring soccer mom.”

John chimed in, “But you are a boring soccer mom.”

She shot him a dirty look, “I know this isn’t really a date but I am so nervous and I don’t know why.”

“Well, it probably has to do with the fact that you are going to talk about a subject that is sensitive and highly emotional and it is scary. The hard part is over, he already knows the major details. Tonight is filling in the blanks and figuring where to go from here. You’ve got this!” Darby offered, knowing that a pep talk is what she needed more than anything right now.

As Mallory checked her watch, the doorbell rang, indicating that Chris was here. As she moved to answer the door, Henry came tearing down the hall declaring he would answer it.

~ * ~

Chris drove down the street slowly, he was nervous and kept repeating to himself to stay calm. He was looking forward to the dinner in order to have some alone time with Mallory. He wanted to talk about Henry but more than anything he just wanted to spend time with her. Through all of the emotion of seeing her and finding out he had a son, the one constant was that he still had feelings for her after all these years.

He pulled into the driveway and slowly stepped out of the car. He noticed the van in the drive and knew that it meant John and Darby were there. He smoothed out his sports coat and fixed his tie as he reached the door. He gently pressed the doorbell and immediately heard the sound of running feet. Then his world stopped when the door flung open and he came face to face with Henry.

His chest was tight and he was finding it hard to breathe. He did not anticipate seeing him tonight and he was not mentally prepared for this. He was trying desperately to keep his composure.

There was no denying that this boy was his son; he had piercing blue eyes and sandy blonde hair. His perfectly shaped lips and the small stature that reminded himself of what he went through before his growth spurt. It became evident to him that his mother did not get a good look at Henry at the cemetery because she would never have assumed this was Josh’s child.

“Hello, can I help you?” He asked with a grin and a slight twinkle in his eye.

Luckily he found his voice, “Hello, I am here to pick up Mallory for dinner.

“So you are the guy taking my mom on a date?” Henry looked him up and down and smiled, “I’m Henry, com on in.”

As Chris walked in he caught a glimpse of Mallory in the living room and could tell she was just as uncomfortable as he was. He turned back to the boy, “Well, it is nice to meet you, Henry, my name is Chris.”

“It is nice to meet you, too.” He looked into the living room at his mom, “Your date is here!”

Chris looked into the living room again and noticed that Mallory was frozen in place. He realized the look on her face is probably the same one he had a few minutes ago so he walked over and gently kissed her on the cheek and whispered in her ear, “Just breathe darling, it will be okay.”

“So, where are you taking her tonight? Do I need to be worried about this?” Henry asked as he followed them into the living room. He was trying to sound all grown up.

She had to smile at the idea of her son being overly protective. “Chris and I are old friends Henry, I know him pretty well so I think I am safe going out with him.”

“We are just going to go to dinner and then I will bring her back home, I promise,” Chris responded as he tried to suppress a smile.

“Okay but don’t keep her out too late and bring her back safe.”

Chris salutes Henry and smiles, “Yes, sir!”

Henry walks over and gives a hug to his mom, “Have fun and I love you.”

“I love you, too baby. Be good for John and Darby, okay?”

Henry nodded and then turned to run up the stairs. Mallory looked over at Chris who was watching him intently. “I had no idea he was going to run and answer the door, I am sorry about that.”

He didn’t turn around, “Don’t be sorry, this was a good way for me to actually meet him,” he turned back to face her, “I guess we should go to dinner and talk about how that is going to play out.”

She nodded in agreement and began walking towards him. She turned and looked at Darby, “Thanks for everything and you know I owe you, right?”

“Yeah, we will settle up after this weekend,” she said with a wink.

Chris held the door open and she walked down the path to the waiting car. She got to the car and quickly opened the door before he had a chance to do it for her. He did wait for her to get in and closed the door before heading back to the driver’s side. He started the car and eased it out of the drive towards the restaurant. The drive was quiet and it was obvious that both of them were a little nervous.

As they arrived at the restaurant, Mallory elected to wait for Chris to open her car door; as he did, he reached for her hand to help her out. He was going all out for this ‘date’ and she had to admit that she liked it. He placed his hand on the small of her back as he led her toward the side door of the restaurant.

“Oh, we have to sneak in?” She said, trying to make a joke out of it.

“Well, the private dining room has a private entrance, this way no one can say they saw us strolling through the restaurant together.”

They were met just inside the door by the hostess who offered to take Mallory’s coat. She ushered them through the entryway to one of the two private rooms and let them know their server would be with them momentarily.

The room was dimly lit but had the glow from the roaring fireplace at the far end. The table for two was situated right in front of the fireplace and provided a romantic setting. Something that Mallory did not truly anticipate. She had tried to tell herself this wasn’t a date but the privacy and the setting made it seem like one.

There was an intimate seating area in the corner of the room to allow for conversation without having to sit at the dining table. This is why Chris had asked for this room, knowing it would provide an ideal setting to continue their conversation. He motioned for her to have a seat, still unable to truly find his voice.

As Mallory took a seat on the couch, Chris lowered himself into the chair next to her. He wanted to take a seat next to her on the couch but he was not sure it would be safe for him to do that. He was teetering between the anger he should feel for her and what could only be described as ache for the woman he longed to have back in his arms.


	13. Chapter 13

While Chris and Mallory were getting comfortable, the side door to the dining room opened and their waiter appeared.  He introduced himself as Gerard and apologized for interrupting; Chris ordered a bottle of wine along with a glass of whiskey, neat.  Gerard leaves the room and Mallory is positive he was able to feel the tension in the room.  A moment later, Gerard reappears and makes them aware of the buzzer on the wall; when they need anything they can simply press that and he will return.  Until then, he would not interrupt them.  Now, Mallory was sure he was able to feel the tension.

She was relieved, however, to know that they could have a conversation and not have an awkward moment by having Gerard walk in.  She took a sip of her wine and began fidgeting with her glass.  Chris took her cue and sipped from his glass as well; the whiskey gave him the courage to speak.

“Thanks for agreeing to have dinner with me tonight,” he cleared his throat, “I think there is probably some apprehension on both of our sides and that is completely understandable.  However, I don’t want us to argue tonight, I just want to talk.”

She sighed heavily and slowly nodded, she was having trouble finding the right words.  “I know that I threw a lot of information at you last night and it only seems fair that you would want to talk about it.  And, I don’t want to argue either, but it might be inevitable since we are both emotionally vested in our respective sides.”

“That is true and last night I said some things I shouldn’t have said and I thought maybe we could start over,” He sat forward and his knees touched hers, “I’m sorry that you didn’t feel you could tell me everything all those years ago.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry, too.  I should have told you the truth back then and I certainly should not have kept it quiet for so long.”

Chris finished off his whiskey, he knew his next statement could start the fight he was wanting to avoid.  “Be honest, Mallory, what is the real reason you never reached out to me?  You talked to Josh all the time, he could have set it up.”

“I really did tell you the truth last night.  Your career was taking off and it would look suspect for me to reach out,” she took a big drink out of her wine glass, “Your mom would question my motives and your fans would absolutely freak out.  I would be labeled a pariah.”

“You really believe that?”

“Yeah, don’t you?  I know the reaction would not be positive in any sense of the imagination.  C’mon do you really think you would have welcomed the news?  Wouldn’t you have been suspicious?”

He hung his head and smiled slightly, “I am going to guess that I would have responded in a similar fashion to the way I did last night.”

“Oh, I think that is a safe bet; and I honestly would not have blamed you.  Josh and I talked about me telling you but then he would tell me about who you were dating and what movie you were working on and there was never an ideal time to drop that kind of bomb on you.”

“I would have looked at it like a bomb, too.  I never gave any consideration to the idea that I would have gotten you pregnant.  I swear it never entered my mind.”

“We were young and stupid and thought we were immune to the realities of having unprotected sex,” she took another drink and drained her glass, “Look, now that you do know, I think you and Henry need to meet but I am not in favor of relocating to Boston right now.  He has his school and friends in Atlanta and I can’t just pick him up and move him on a whim.”

He stared at her for a minute, watching the reflection of the fire dancing in her eyes.  He was lost in the moment but tried to quickly regain his composure, “You are right, I think it will be a big enough shock to learn about me and I agree, it would be unfair to make him move right away.  He will need time to adjust – I think we all will.

This was not the conversation he had originally planned for the night, but coming face-to-face with Henry had thrown a monkey wrench into his plans.  The idea of having a son was one thing, but looking him in the eye, well that made it real and scary.  Something he wasn’t quite prepared for.

Mallory was watching his expression carefully.  He had made an abrupt change from his position last night when he was demanding to see Henry and for them to move to Boston.  You were curious about what had happened between when you saw him last night and right now?  “Um, I’m sorry it is just that you are catching me a little off guard.  I am not complaining, but just want to understand why you changed your mind?”

“I thought about it all last night and my brain would not shut off.  Hell, I could barely sleep and it has consumed me all day.  Last night I was being selfish and only thinking of myself and how I wanted this to go.  I was not taking you or Henry into consideration.  So, I am doing that now and suggesting we take it slow for all of us.”

“Did your mom tell you all of that?” She said with a smile; a gentle dig at how his mom has a powerful influence in his decisions.

He gave her a hard stare, “Actually, no she didn’t.  We had a terse discussion this morning and I told her I am not ready to talk about any of this with her right now.”  He sat back, settled deep in the oversized leather chair, “I don’t’ want to spend our time this evening discussing my mom, maybe we can table that for another night.”

She sat back, crossing her legs, and looking intently at him; he didn’t break her gaze.  “Ok, I will not ask you about your mom and I will not going to argue with you about your change in your position.  I am just going to say that I am thankful that we have come to an agreement.  I have to tell you I am not sure how Henry is going to react to all of this,” she pauses and he notices the change in her breathing and when she looks up the tears are beginning to well in her eyes, “Chris, please don’t take him away from me.”

He immediately pulled himself out of the chair and took the spot next to her on the couch.  Reaching out he put his arm around her and pulled her close to him and placed a kiss on her head, “Oh, baby, I never considered doing that, I swear.”  He kissed her again and held her a little tighter.

Her face began to flush with embarrassment, she quickly sat up and wiped the tears from her face, “Sorry, I guess the wine has made me a tad emotional.”

“There is no need to apologize, it is very clear that you love our son,” his eyes went wide at the realization of what he had said.

Mallory smiled in amusement, “You should get used to saying it; well, at least in private settings anyway.  You know, your fandom will explode if they find out about you having a son – they already freak out when they see pictures of you with kids.  What is the expression they use?  Oh, yeah, they say their ovaries explode.”  Mallory began laughing hysterically at this.

 

Chris just stared at her for a minute and then finally asked, “Ok, confession time – so tell me exactly how you are following my career?”

She turned bright red, “Um…well….when I want to know the truth I call Josh.  But for fun, I cruise Tumblr and look at all the pictures that are posted and read what people say about you.”

“Shit!  Are you kidding?  Social media is dangerous – rumors get started and things can turn ugly.”

“Oh, I know, which is why I worry about this situation getting out.  I know what has been said about the girls you have dated or have been rumored to have dated and I am terrified of what would be said about me.”

“Well, I have no intention of putting out a press release or having you walk the red carpet,” as he said the words he began to wonder if it sounded too harsh.  He looked at her and noticed that she wasn’t looking at him, her head was down and her eyes fixed on her lap, “Mallory, I simply meant that I wouldn’t parade you out in public and subject you to any unwanted exposure.  I would love to have you on my arm for an event and show you off if that is what you want but I don’t want to put you out there just for the sake of it.”

She slowly looked up and made direct eye contact with him, “Chris, what do you really want from me?”

He let her question sink in for a minute, he wasn’t really expecting her to get to the point so quickly.  He gathered his thoughts before he began to speak, “All of these years I have always wondered where you were and what you were doing.  I made up stories in my mind as to why you left and whether I would ever see you again.  You said you have thought about me over the years and I wasn’t lying when I said I have thought about you.”

“But what do you want, Chris?  I don’t know where I stand with you or where you want me to stand.  I wouldn’t be this assertive but I figure this is my only real opportunity,” she uncrossed her legs and leaned forward, elbows on her knees, “What do you want?  You talk like you want me in your life but I don’t know if that is from a strictly platonic standpoint or if you are wanting something more.  Give me an idea so I know what I am walking into, please.”

He smiled, she was direct and while he should think she is full of herself and overly confident, he realizes she is actually terrified and unsure of herself.  “I honestly don’t have an answer for you, Mallory.  When I saw you at the funeral home the other night, I was full of jealousy when I saw you with Josh but my heart swelled when you looked at me and every fiber within me wanted to pull you into my arms and not let you go.”

Her eyes went wide when she heard this admission and she quickly looked away from him.  He took a deep breath and then continued, “Then when I found out that you had kept Henry from me all these years, well, it is safe to say that my feelings changed.  But as angry as I was, as you told me what had happened, the anger began to subside and the feelings I had for you were still there.”

“You still have feelings?”

“Yeah, I do, and I know it makes no sense and I know we can’t just pick up where we left off twelve years ago.  My mind tells me that but my heart tells me I want to try.”

She didn’t know what to say; while she had secretly hoped for him to say these words over the years, the reality of him actually doing it was a different story.  She could feel her body temperature rise and her skin begin to flush.

“Mallory, would you be willing to give us another try?  
  



	14. Chapter 14

When he said the words, they came out soft and made him seem vulnerable.  She did not immediately respond to his question and she was not sure how her moment of silence would be interpreted.  Unfortunately, he misinterpreted her shock for lack of desire; he stood and walked toward the door, ready to push the button to call Gerard and order another whiskey when he hears her voice.

Her voice is soft and her words are almost imperceptible, “You want to get back together?  Do you want to try to be a family?”

“Well, don’t make it sound so ridiculous,” he stopped short of the wall and turned and looked at her, “We have both admitted that we still have feelings for one another, and it only seems natural for us to consider acting upon them, right?”

“What about Henry?  I mean we can’t just start dating and acting like a family with him; I thought we were going to take it slow?”  Her words were harsh.

“Don’t misunderstand me, I want it all to go slow, and I am not suggesting we just jump right in.  Hell, I don’t even think you should introduce me to Henry as his father yet,” he moved back to the other side of the room and sat down next to her on the couch, taking her hands in his.  “I will be honest with you, last night it was all about having what I thought was rightfully mine.  But tonight, seeing him for the first time, it scared the shit out of me.  If you had told me you were pregnant I would have had nine months to prepare to meet my son but opening the door and coming face-to-face with my twelve-year-old son; well, I wasn’t really prepared for that.”

Mallory could not help but smile as he said those words; she had a feeling that he was having a bit of anxiety over the entire situation, and that is why his position had changed.  “I understand, I do. Since you met him tonight and he knows you are an old boyfriend of mine we can use that as a way for us to hang out and for you to get to know him without the pressure of being his dad.  Will that work?”  He nodded his head in agreement.  “He has already done quite a bit of sightseeing but there are a few more places to go and see and maybe we can do that tomorrow, are you available?”

“I will make myself available,” he smiled broadly, showing off that grin that Mallory knew melted the panties off women around the world.  “I don’t want to overwhelm him, so I am not going to introduce him to the rest of the family yet.  I think maybe we just spend some time together before you go back to Atlanta and then we take it from there.”

She nodded her head in agreement, this could work, and she was cautiously optimistic that it could happen.  “I don’t want to ruin the moment, but how is your mother going to react if you don’t introduce Henry to her before we leave for Atlanta?”

“You let me worry about my mom, okay?   You are both very protective of your sons, so you have a lot in common in that respect.  But she put her nose in and got several things wrong and made things worse in the last few days; so she doesn’t get a say in any of this.”  Chris stood up from the couch and held out his hand for Mallory, “Are you ready for dinner?”

She took his hand, and he escorted her to the table nestled in front of the fireplace.  After helping her to her seat, he moved to press the call button so that Gerard could come in to take their order.  He then took his seat opposite her and waited as Gerard entered the room, presented menus, and poured glasses of wine.  Chris politely handed the menus back to Gerard, “I realize my date hates when a man orders for her, but I am going to be ever so bold this evening,” he proceeded to place the order and thanked Gerard.  He looked back at Mallory, “By ordering while he was here, he won’t come back, and we can be alone for a while longer to continue our conversation.”

“So you know I hate it, but you did it without regard?  I should make you pay for that,” she said with a wink of her eye and a devilish grin.

“Oh, by all means, please do,” he responded while smiling and raising his eyebrows. “Seriously, I know I should be asking you questions and having you tell me all about Henry but I want to talk about your life over these last twelve years.  And please don’t give me the pat answer that you are just a mom; tell me about your life.”

“Um…well….I am a mom,” she said laughing and picking up her wine glass, “I don’t know, what exactly is it that you want to know?”

“Mallory, did you mean what you said?  That you had followed my career, and you talked to Josh about me?”

She let out a hearty laugh this time, “Yeah, I was like a damn school girl.  I wouldn’t see your movies in the theater, though; I would rent or buy them instead.   Josh would always give me the heads up on when they were coming out, and I would get them.  He would also give me the heads up on what you were working on – upcoming projects and stuff.  I am fairly certain he hated answering all of my dumb ass questions including my curiosity about who you were dating and whether it was serious or not.  I am pretty sure that makes me sound like a stalker.”

“Well, maybe a little,” he mocked.  “I guess I just can’t believe Josh never told me he was talking to you; he was very good at keeping you secret even when I would tell him how much I missed you and wished I could see you again, he never gave you up.” Mallory felt her cheeks begin to flush, and she knew it wasn’t from the fireplace.  “Well, you have followed my career and know everything about me so it only fair that I get to have the same sort of information about you.  Fill me in on what you’ve been up to, who you’ve dated…come on give me all the dirt.”

She laughed heartily at this, “Well, I don’t think I know everything about you, but I do see your point.”  She cleared her throat and started with her story, “I moved in with Aunt Mary, she was my dad’s sister.  She wasn’t nearly as judgmental as my parents, so she agreed to take me in.  She was a widow, and she didn’t have any children but always wanted them, so she welcomed the idea of having me there.  She said it kept her from being so lonely in that big house.”

“Did your parents ever try to reach out?”

“No, they never called or anything.   Mary called them a few times during my pregnancy to tell them how I was doing, but she did all of the talking.  She told me one time that it seemed like my mom wanted me to come home and it was my dad who always said no.”  She stared into the flames of the fire and tried to pull her thoughts together; it was important to have this conversation, but that didn’t mean it was easy.  “My pregnancy wasn’t easy, the stress from the situation with my parents and of us being apart, well my blood pressure was high, and it wasn’t healthy.  She called my parents to tell them, and they were unfazed.  See my parents were big in the community and it would have reflected poorly on them to have an unmarried and pregnant daughter.  So, they never would allow shame to fall on them and that meant they couldn’t be a part of our lives.”

“And you transferred schools, right?”

“Yeah, we were right outside of the city, and there was a small college that I was able to transfer to so that I could continue my studies.  It worked out well for the first semester since it was still early enough in the pregnancy.  My aunt kept telling me I should get out of the house and make friends and have fun – I think she forgot that my condition prevented me from being able to do that.”

“What, you weren’t going out and partying and picking up men?”  Chris was trying told hold back his laugh as he lifted his glass for a drink.

“You know, amazingly enough, I had a hard time finding guys who were interested in dating a pregnant girl,” she said laughing. “I didn’t have very many friends, and I think most everyone took for granted that I was married, and I really didn’t want to argue the point and volunteer that I was single and knocked up.”

“Yeah, sorry, I guess I should have known better than to bring that up,” He said somewhat embarrassed.

“Well I didn’t have time for a social life, I knew I would not be able to take many classes the next semester, so I had a stupid schedule to get as many classes in as I could before Henry was born.  Unfortunately, I put too much pressure on myself and because of my high blood pressure I had to be placed on bed rest.”  She noticed how he was watching her; eyes fixated and showing concern.  He wasn’t saying anything, though, she was waiting for him to interject but he was quiet.  She decided to move forward, “So they figured if I withdrew from the semester and stayed on bed rest that my stress level would decrease.  Unfortunately, it didn’t work – it made it worse because I had nothing to do but to lay in bed and worry and Henry ended up coming five weeks early.”

Chris let out a heavy sigh, “But the two of you were okay, right?  I mean, obviously, you are sitting in front of me, and I saw him last night but were there lasting effects from his being born early?”

“No, he was fine and was actually at a good weight, so he didn’t have to spend very much time in the NICU.  He is healthy, and you would have never known he was premature if I didn’t tell you.”

“I’m sorry, I guess it was my fault that all of that happened to you.”

“No, not all your fault, just some of it,” she said with a smile and a faint laugh, “Remember Romeo, it takes two to tango so this wasn’t all your doing.  Look, I don’t want to make it sound all gloom and doom.  I ended up making the best of it, and Mary was awesome.  She didn’t work so she agreed to watch Henry while I finished school and got a job.  She spoiled us, and I came to think of her as my mom and Henry thought of her as his grandmother.”

Chris smiled at her; she was amazing, and he was impressed with how she appeared to be holding her life together.  He knew he was supposed to be angry but looking at her, seeing how she carries herself; the anger dissipates.  “Is she still alive?”

“No, sadly she passed two years ago.  It was hard for Henry, and I had to explain how she was an angel watching over him now and that she would forever be in his heart.  He misses her so much,” she stopped to gather herself before continuing, “As hard as that conversation was; I have a feeling it will be nothing compared to the one we will have regarding you.”

“Well, hopefully, we can have that conversation together, and it won’t be something you have to deal with alone.”


	15. Chapter 15

Mallory was preparing to respond when the side door opened, and Gerard appeared with their dinners. She watched as the plates were placed in front of them and said nothing as Gerard asked if they needed anything else. Before turning to leave, he mentioned he would be back in five minutes to check on them; he then retreated through the side door. She guessed he gave a specific timeframe so that they could tailor their conversation for his interruption; they do think of everything in these fancy restaurants.

Chris said nothing as he placed his napkin on his lap and picked up his silverware to begin eating. It didn’t take him long to notice that she was watching him eat, and she had not touched her plate. He put his fork and knife down, gracefully wiped his mouth, and leaned forward on the table, “Is something wrong? Please don’t tell me you became a vegetarian in the last twelve years?”

She let out a hearty laugh, “Heavens no! I mean to stare, really, I think I am still in shock that we are having dinner and are making plans. This entire situation is improbable, you realize that, right?”

He gazed at her for a moment, watching the fire dance in her eyes, which were glistening, “Well, yeah, I can admit that it is a little…um…hard to believe.”

“Oh man, I hope we are not going to end up like some horribly sappy Hallmark movie.”

“We might,” he jabbed playfully, “Look, I think there are reservations on both sides and it is saying something when I am the voice of reason on this right now. It will be an adjustment for both of us, but we will find a way to work it out. Now, that is one of the finest steaks in Boston and you are letting it get cold.”

She took his cue and began to eat her dinner; the two ate in relative silence with Gerard checking in on them from time to time. As they finished dinner, Chris began to worry about ending the night. He knew he could not take her back to his mother’s house and he didn’t want to risk going back to her house since it would mean seeing Henry. Going to a bar would be risky as they would be seen in public and obviously their conversation could be overheard. His brain was beginning to hurt as he tried to work through the scenarios and evidently the scowl was evident on this face.

“Quit thinking so hard, I can smell your brain smoking,” she said with a giggle.

It broke him out of his trance, “What? Did you say something?”

“What are you thinking about? You have such a stern look on your face.”

“Oh, I am just thinking about what we are going to do now that dinner is over.”

“Well, I know this is not what you will want to hear but maybe you can just take me home. Before you get upset, I just think that if we are going to spend all day together tomorrow, we don’t want to use up all of our conversation topics tonight.” She offered with a grin that made him realize she was not trying to be mean but that she was truly giving thought and consideration to their situation.

“Maybe you're right; I don’t really want to let you go but I don’t want to use up all of our conversation in one night either.”

She stood and walked towards him and stood to greet her; she gently touched his face in a gesture that was so romantic and intimate, “We have twelve years of our own to catch up on and the lifetime of our son to discuss – I don’t think we will run out of conversations.” She then wrapped her arms around him and placed her head on his chest. She just wanted to feel his body against hers and have him close.

He had to admit her actions took him by surprise but he was not about to let her go. Her warm body pressed against his is what he had been dreaming about for some time. But just as he was melting into the moment she pulled back.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that,” she offered quietly as she moved back towards her chair.

“No need to apologize, I was rather enjoying it,” he responded and he knew his voice captured his disappointment. He couldn’t help it, he had waited all these years to see her again and he finally had her in his arms and she didn’t seem like she wanted to stay there.

Chris walked over and hit the buzzer and when Gerard appeared he spoke to him quietly and directly; it was obvious he was settling the bill for the dinner. A moment later the main door to the room opens and the hostess appears with an envelope for Chris and their coats. Mallory anticipated that the envelope held his credit card and the receipt for dinner. Chris helped her with her coat and then escorted her out to the car; he didn’t say much and it was a little awkward.

As they pulled into the driveway at the house, Mallory turned to look at Chris, “You haven’t said much since we left dinner, have I done something to make you angry?”

He waited a moment before answering, “No, you haven’t done anything to make me angry.”

“Well, what have I done wrong?”

“Nothing, I think I just didn’t really want the night to end. I wanted more time alone with you and realize that any time with you from this point forward will be with Henry and I am not sure I am ready for that.”

“We will have alone time, I will make sure we do,” she unhooked her seatbelt and leaned across the car and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She immediately felt the spark when her lips touched his skin. “I will see myself to the door. Give me a call in the morning and we will make our plans for the day. Thank you for dinner, Chris, I had an amazing time.”

He watched as she got out of the car and made her way up the pathway and through the front door. If he didn’t know any better, he could have sworn her feet were not touching the ground. He sat in the driveway for a moment before backing out and driving home.

On his drive home he could not help but hope that everyone would be in bed when he got home; that way he could sneak into the house and avoid any questions. He had successfully avoided his mom and her questions but he knew that his luck would run out. As he pulled into the driveway, he realized that today was that day. The lights were on downstairs so his mom was up, or Carly, or if he was really lucky, both of them.

He walked up the pathway and slowly opened the front door; he noticed everyone was in the family room watching movies and huddled together on the couch under blankets. He stood at the back of the room for a minute and watched, thinking of how it would be to have Henry in that mix. Just then he felt his mom’s hand on his shoulder as she walked up behind him; he didn’t even realize she wasn’t in the family room.

“Hey, where have you been all night? You are all dressed up and look nice by the way.”

“I had dinner with Mallory; I just got home,” he said coolly.

“Come here,” she said as she pulled his arm toward the other room. She walked him into the living room where they had some privacy from the rest of the family. “Are you going to talk to me about this situation? I know you are upset Chris but we have never gone this long without talking, and I think we need to work it out.”

“Fine, but let’s go over to the office because I am not going to get into this where Carly, Ryan, or the kids can overhear this conversation.”

After settling into the chair in the office, Chris decided to start, “I am not going to yell, and I am not going to raise my voice. I will tell you what is going on, but none of this is up for debate, do you understand?” He waited until his mother nodded her head in agreement before he continued. “I told you the other day; Mallory’s parents disowned her because I got her pregnant and they kicked her out. She was afraid of what my reaction would be and terrified of what your reaction would be so she never said anything.”

Lisa let out a huff, “She was afraid of my reaction? Why? I was never anything but nice to her.”

“She was afraid you would think it was bad for my career, and she knew that if you were not happy that I would not be happy. She doesn’t have ill feelings for you mom – she just didn’t think you would be thrilled with an unplanned pregnancy for your unmarried son.”

“Oh, well she might have had a point,” she relented.

“She thought about telling me over the years but was afraid to because my career was taking off and she would be viewed as a gold digger or a pariah. And I have to admit that she is right, it would not have gone well for her in the press; even if we tried to keep it quiet.”

“Was she planning on telling you?”

“I don’t know, she says she was, but I am not sure when. I think the fact that you saw Henry at the cemetery and me attacking Josh sort of escalated any time frame she had. I was angry at first but when I heard the entire story about what she went through; mom, I feel bad for her, and I hate that she didn’t feel like she could come to me.”

“So tell me about him; what is he like?”

“I haven’t talked to him yet, at least not in that way. He doesn’t know about me,” he hung his head because he knew to admit this part to his mom was going to be hard. “When Mallory and I had our confrontation the other night I was all about meeting him and having my rights as his father. Mom, he opened the door tonight, and I looked at him, and my heart stopped. It was like looking into a mirror, and suddenly the idea that I am someone’s father became one hundred percent real; I thought I was going to pass out because I could hear my blood rushing in my ears.”

Tears began to prick the corner of Lisa’s eyes as her son talked about this child and her new grandson. Chris had always talked about wanting kids, and she knew that there was a part of him that was thrilled to be able to say he had a son, but she also knew that he struggled with anxiety, and this is what he was waging the biggest battle with right now. She knew that the best thing she could do right now was to let him get it out and for her to listen.

“I couldn’t breathe, and I know that Mallory couldn’t either; I was afraid she was going to have a stroke. I got the impression he came running to answer the door, and she couldn’t stop him. But he was sweet and very protective of his mother; wanted to know if he should worry about her going out and if I would bring her home safe.”

“It sounds like the two of them are very close.”

“They are, and she even begged me tonight to no take him away from her. Mom, it is not my intention to take him away from her, but I want to be a part of their lives,” he was almost pleading as he said the words.

“I will let you handle it, Chris. I won’t interject unless you ask me to. But I would like to know what you are going to do. You seem very anxious about this but also very firm that you want to be in his life; is she meeting you half way on this or is she shutting you out?”

“Mom, she is just as nervous about this as I am. We agreed to take this slow, very slow, allowing me to get to know Henry without the pressures of fatherhood. And gets Henry used to me being around without disliking me immediately because he thinks I am coming to rip him away from his mom.”

“And what about your relationship with Mallory?”

“Well, we are willing to see where it goes.”

“You never stopped loving her, did you?”

He didn’t answer, “You know, I don’t want to tell everyone about Henry yet. I don’t want to introduce him to anyone, including you and I know that will upset you, and I am sorry. But I promised Mallory we would take this slow, and it is as much for me as it is for her and Henry, so I hope you can respect that decision.”

“I can respect it – I don’t like it, but I can certainly respect it. And I have not told your brother or your sisters about him. And I can keep it quiet from them, but I do think you should call your father and talk to him about it.”

“Thanks, yeah I will call him and talk to him,” he stood up and began walking toward the door and then turned to look at his mom, “To answer your question from earlier, no, I never stopped.”


	16. Chapter 16

Mallory entered the house; it was quiet, and the lights were off, so she guessed that everyone had turned in for the night. She took care to be quiet as she locked the front door; she removed her shoes and climbed the stairs, noticing all of the closed bedroom doors. Mallory stopped outside of Henry’s door and gave consideration to opening it and checking on him but decided she would come back after she changed her clothes. She took a few steps into her room and was preparing to close the door when she heard a noise in the hallway, she peeked around the door and found Henry standing there looking at her and rubbing his eyes.

“Hey momma, weren’t you going to come in and say goodnight?”

She opened the door a little wider and motioned for him to come into her room, “Hey, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You didn’t wake me,” he said as he yawned, “I stayed up to make sure got home okay.” He walked in and crawled up on the big bed in the middle of the room and made himself comfortable. “I’ve never seen you go out on a date before so I wanted to make sure you came back home. I wanted to make sure that nothing happened to you.”

Mallory softly laughed and shook her head, “Oh, Henry, I really should not let you watch crime shows on TV.” She walked over and sat down on the bed next to him and gave him a hug. “Yes, I was going to come in and give you a kiss goodnight, but I was going to change my clothes first. I didn’t realize you were awake, or I would have come on in to see you. Since you are up, though, maybe we could talk about the guy I had dinner with tonight.”

“Ew! I don’t want to talk about your date!” He said making a face and acting as if the idea was disgusting.

She playfully pushed his shoulder, “Oh, you are such a silly goose I am not going to tell you about my date but I want to talk about the guy!”

“What was his name again?” He asked scratching his head as if he didn’t remember, “Oh, yeah his name is Chris,” saying it with a stern and grown up voice.

“Yes, his name is Chris, and I met him a few years before you were born, and we dated and liked each other a lot.”

Henry interrupted, “Did he know my daddy?”

She was not prepared to go down this road and hated that she was going to lie to him, but she knew that she wasn’t ready to tell him the truth. And she promised Chris that when the time came, they would tell Henry together. “Yes, he knew your daddy well. But, Chris and I broke up and then we didn’t speak to each other for a long time. I had not talked to him until he came to the funeral home the other day.”

“Wow, that is a long time to be mad at someone.”

“Well, yeah, but we weren’t really mad. It is hard to explain, but I just left him without saying anything to him.”

“So you broke his heart?”

“Yeah baby, that is probably the best way to put it. But it was a very long time ago, and we want to put it behind us because we both still have feelings for one another. I know that is all a bit grown up for you to understand, but it involves you, so I needed to explain it. Because Chris and I want to start spending time together which means he will be spending time with you and he wants to get to know you.”

“He does? I’m nobody important.” Henry said shrugging his shoulders and looking bewildered.

“Sure you are – you are very important to me, and if you are important to me you will end up being really important to him. He knows we are getting ready to head back to Atlanta, so he wants to spend the day with us tomorrow – are you up for that? I think it might be fun, and I think you will like him.”

Henry was very quiet for a moment as if he was truly contemplating everything his mother was saying to him. “Mom, are you going to marry him?”

She could not help but laugh at the question; he was so sweet and innocent, “Oh, honey it is way too soon to talk about something like that. I mean that is always a possibility but right now we just want to spend time together and see if we still like each other the way we used to. Plus, he wants to make sure that you are going to like him and will be okay with him being around.” She knew that she was leaving out very big pieces of the story, and it was not sitting right with her but, in her head, she knew it was the right thing to do. “I know this is a big change for you because you haven’t had a man around before.”

“Josh has been around; doesn’t he count?”

“Um…well, yeah I guess I forgot about Josh. But the difference is that Josh is more like a brother to me, and there is nothing romantic about him. Chris would be my boyfriend, and that would be different.”

“Okay, well I am good if he wants to hang out. But don’t kiss him in front of me because that is gross.”

“I will make sure to tell him that tomorrow. Is it okay if we hold hands?” Henry nodded his head to show his approval. “I am going to talk to Chris in the morning, and we will make plans for the day, so you need to tell me if there is something you want to do.”

“So is he going to visit us in Atlanta?”

“Yeah, and we might visit him from time to time. He lives here in Boston, and he has a house in California so we could visit him there. But we won’t make those decisions until we are sure that you two get along, and we know you want to spend time with him.”

“Mom, do you think he will make you happy?”

“What makes you ask a question like that?”

“It is always just you and me. I know you spend time with John and Darby but it is always you and me, and you seem lonely. I just want you to be happy and to have someone that makes you smile.”

She was surprised by his comments and had to hold back the tears that were beginning to prick her eyes. Henry was not an overly sensitive child, but he was evidently more observant than she had previously given credit. “Oh, sweetie, you make me happy, and you make me smile every day. But yeah, I really do think that Chris will make me happy and I am pretty sure he will make me smile.”

“Well, if he will make you happy he will make me happy so he can hang out with us.”

She once again pulled her son into a hug and this time, she kissed the top of his head. “Thanks for giving your approval, Henry. Now, how about you go back to bed and get some sleep now that you know I am home safe? I want you to be rested and on your best behavior tomorrow when you meet Chris.”

Henry hung his head and pretended to be upset, “Fine mom, I’ll go to bed.” She began to tickle him and made him laugh and then once again gave him a hug and kiss and sent him off to his room.

Mallory changed her clothes and crawled under the covers, settling in and trying to get comfortable and warm. The night had been full of surprises, and there was little doubt that tomorrow would bring a whole new set. She was not sure she would be able to sleep, and she wondered if Chris was having the a similar issue. She almost picked up her phone to text him but feared that she would wake him up if he had fallen asleep. Instead, she would count sheep or meditate in the hopes of finding slumber on her own.

It did not take long for sleep to overtake her.

~ * ~

Mallory woke the next morning feeling rested and ready for whatever the day might bring. She got ready and went downstairs, deciding to fix a big breakfast for everyone. She was finishing up with the bacon when Darby joined her in the kitchen.

“Wow, you are little suzie-homemaker this morning. Apparently, the date went well?”

“Yeah, it went well. I mean we had our moments where things were a little rocky but, overall, it went very well,” Mallory offered without turning from the stove. “I think that Henry answering the door last night shook him, though.”

“So, don’t be so cryptic, give me all of the details.”

Mallory took the last piece of bacon from the frying pan, turned off the stove and turned to face her best friend. “The other night he was all fire and brimstone, he wanted what was his and demanded his rights to Henry. Last night his demeanor had changed and he suddenly wanted to take it slow,” she took a drink from her coffee cup before continuing. “Darby, when Henry opened the door last night it freaked him out.”

“I knew it had to, he had the deer in headlights look. Then again, so did you.”

“Yeah, well his anxiety kicked in. He told me that he just really wasn’t prepared to see him and meet him so he wants to take it slow. That means he wants to hang out with him and ease into the relationship and I can completely respect that. I don’t want to make Chris uncomfortable and, in turn, make Henry uncomfortable.”

“As a medical professional, I am in agreement that this approach will work well. But be careful to not drag it out too long because that could have an adverse effect as well.”

“Thanks, Doc,” Mallory said mockingly.

“If Chris is going to take it slow then he isn’t telling his family yet? How is that going to go over?”

“I’m not sure; I can’t anticipate that his mom will be very excited that he will be holding out on the introduction. But maybe she will surprise me, stranger things have happened you know.”


	17. Chapter 17

Breakfast was a success, and Henry was bouncing off the walls with excitement to hang out with his mom and her ‘boyfriend.’ He had been teasing her all morning about the idea of her dating, and she was good-natured about it. She had taken a moment to at least text Chris to warn him that Henry was making fun of the situation. He had responded that he thought it was cute and was looking forward to getting together.

Chris arrived at the house around 1 pm and cautiously walked up the path to the front door. His nerves were on edge, and he kept telling himself to just breathe. However, it wasn’t that simple. The idea of spending the entire day with Henry was terrifying enough but when you layered Mallory into the mix, well it was almost more than he could stand. But he wanted this, more than anything else in the world.

Before he could knock, the door flew open, and Henry yelled, “Mom, Chris is here!”

“I know, Henry, you told me when his car pulled into the driveway,” Mallory replied as she walked down the hall while putting struggling to put her earrings in her ear. “Come on in, Chris. Sorry, I am just running a few minutes behind.”

“Hi Henry, good to see you again,” he said as he entered the house, “No worries, Mallory, we aren’t on a schedule of any kind.” Chris was uneasy and was hoping that it wasn’t showing. But he noticed that Henry was a little tentative around him as well, and he was not sure what to make of that.

“Mom told me last night that you were her boyfriend a long time ago,” Henry said with amusement. “And that you want to be her boyfriend again.”

Chris smiled at how innocent it sounded, “Well, that is true, I was her boyfriend a very long time ago, and I would like it if she would let me be her boyfriend again. I think I need you to give your approval, though, so would you be okay with it if I wanted to be your mom’s boyfriend?”

Henry shrugged his shoulders, “Eh, I’ll let you know at the end of the day,” he replied with a smile and then turned to get his coat so they could leave.

Chris was not sure how to respond, and when he looked up, he saw Mallory standing in the doorway stifling a laugh. “So you think that was funny?” He asked as he began to walk towards her.

Mallory met him halfway and whispered seductively, “Oh, I think it is hysterical because you have no idea how to take his sense of humor. You will learn, eventually.” She could not contain her laughter at that point.

He had to take a deep breath to contain himself before he could respond, “I am so glad this is entertaining you.” He then turned and opened the door to lead them out to the car. Henry was obviously excited because he sprinted to the car, got in, and had his seatbelt buckled before Chris and Mallory had even made it to the car.

As they pulled out of the driveway, Mallory leaned over toward Chris, “Are you worried about being recognized today?”

“I hadn’t thought about it; I guess I should have. I have sunglasses, and there is a ball cap in the backseat; I can wear those if you think I should.”

“You do what you think you need to do. I just don’t know how often you are bothered when you are home.”

“Liar,” he chided softly, “You said you follow Tumblr and Instagram. Have you seen paparazzi shots of me in Boston?”

She let out a laugh and sat back in her seat, “Touché, Mr. Evans.” Mallory turned and looked at Henry in the backseat, and he was oblivious to their conversation. He was watching the landscape or looking up items on his iPad and keeping to himself.

~ * ~

The day had included a visit to the aquarium, where Chris learned that Henry was fascinated with sharks and jellyfish. He had recited everything you could want to know about sharks and how they kill their prey, how many teeth they have, and how their eyes roll back in their head. Chris was impressed by how much Henry knew and how excited he was to share the information.

They had also spent time at the Children’s Museum and the Science Center where they watched IMAX movies and crawled around through the exhibits. Chris realized throughout the day that Henry was not a kid who watched movies or played video games; he read books, loved school and studied regularly. He also realized that no mention had been made of Captain America or The Avengers, leading him to believe that Henry had never watched the movies. He never had the guts to ask Mallory if this was the case because he wasn’t sure he wanted the answer.

After the aquarium and museums they stopped and got dinner. The conversation was comfortable, and the chemistry between them was incredible. Henry was at ease with Chris from the very beginning, and he found it easy to joke and tease with him as if he had known him for years. Mallory had kept a close eye on them during the day in addition to watching the people around them. She worried if people were snapping photos of them that they would end up online or in chat rooms. Mallory also made sure to maintain a safe distance between herself and Chris so that no one could photograph them together. She was more paranoid than he was, evidently.

At dinner Henry talked non-stop; letting Chris know that he wanted to be a scientist and maybe even a marine biologist. He talked about the Georgia Aquarium and how he enrolls in the winter and summer camp programs. Then he started talking about the penguins and how he works with them in the program and how cool they are and how he wishes he could have one of his own.

Chris was amazed at how Henry could talk and inhale his food at the same time without choking or missing a beat. Mallory was unable to get a word in on the conversation; it was completely monopolized by Henry and Chris.

Shortly after they begin the drive back home, Mallory turned to ask Henry a question and realized he had fallen asleep, she turned back to Chris, “I think you wore him out, he’s sound asleep.”

“Wait, I wore him out? I think its the other way around, I’m pretty sure if I weren’t driving I’d be the one passed out.”

She looked at him and laughed, “I think he had a great time; so how about you? Did you enjoy yourself?”

“Today was amazing,” He replied while turning to look at her, “I don’t know when I’ve had this much fun. And you didn’t tell me how wicked smart he is.”

“Well, I did want to seem like I was bragging, so I figured it was better for you to learn that information on your own,” She laughed quietly. “He loves to read and suck up knowledge; he watches more educational TV than recreational TV.”

“He apparently gets that honestly; you were always very smart and could always run circles around me in any trivia game.”

“Well, I don’t push him too hard. He finds something he likes and then just wants to learn everything he can about it. He is a bright kid and is in the honors programs in school. The school counselors have talked to me about having him skip a grade, but I don’t want to do it. He is small for his age, and I wouldn't want him to be bullied for being small and smart – that wouldn't be fair.”

“Wait a minute, is he bullied?” Chris was concerned, and it was plastered all over his face and in his voice.

“He was, a little, but not so much now. I mean look at him, he is small for his age Chris. You didn’t blossom until you were in high school, so that is what he has to look forward to.”

“How bad did it get?”

“It never got physical, thank God. It was verbal, and luckily one of the other mothers heard her son picking on Henry, and she stepped in. I didn’t to have to intercede, but you can believe I was ready to pounce. He tried to act like it didn’t bother him but it did.”

“Let me guess, the teasing made him withdraw even more and make him read and study harder?”

“You got it! It was a vicious circle, and I was not sure what to do about it. This all happened right before Aunt Mary passed away; she ended up paying to put him in a private school in the hopes that it would help.”

“And did it?”

“The school has a strong academic program and so there are a lot of smart kids like Henry. While he is still one of the smaller boys in his class, he is at least not picked on for being one of the brightest,” She took a deep breath and looked out the window to gauge where they were in term of being close to home.

“Can I do something to help? Can I pay to send him to taekwondo classes or something?” Chris asks tentatively.

Mallory snorts in response, “No, oh baby, that is so sweet of you to offer. I think you would be wasting your money – Henry has no coordination. I mean it, absolutely none. The boy couldn’t play sports if he wanted to so I am sure he couldn’t land a punch or a kick if he tried. At least not right now, let him grow a little more.”

Chris chuckled at images that this brought to mind. “Ok, I want to change the subject for a minute because I don’t want to think about him being bullied. At least not tonight, we can discuss it another night. I want to know if he said anything to you about me during the day? Has he said whether he likes me or if he is okay with me being your boyfriend?”

Mallory turned to look at Chris and began laugh, “What are you, a lovesick teenage girl?”

“No,” he said a little too emphatically, “I just don’t want to find out that he doesn’t like me or thinks I am stupid or something.”

“Oh my God, you are a teenage girl!” She said as she punched him in the shoulder, she could not contain her laughter.

“Stop it, I just want to know if I made a good impression.”

“Yeah, for once you have to hope he likes you because you can’t rely on Cap to help you out– he doesn’t know who that is or that you play him in the movies.”

“I kinda guessed that – what kind of parent are you that you don’t take your son to see superhero movies?”

“Oh, I do take him to superhero movies - but he likes Batman.”

Chris let out a huff and tried to act as if he was offended. In reality, he was amused that Henry did not watch the movies or know him as Captain America. It would allow for him to introduce him to the MCU and for Henry to not have any preconceived notions as to what he might be like.

As they pulled into the driveway, it was evident that Henry was out like a light. He had not moved since Mallory first noticed he had fallen asleep after dinner. Chris took a minute just to watch him sleep, something so simple yet so meaningful; all the while, Mallory was watching Chris with the same look.

She finally snapped to her senses, “Chris, why don’t you carry him into the house and you can put him in bed. It can be your first time properly tucking him in.”

His eyes didn’t move from the boy, “Okay…yeah…sure…I can do that…right…um.”

“No need to be nervous you doof, you’re going to open the car door, pick him up and carry him into the house. It isn’t hard, and he isn’t that heavy.”

Chris took the key out of the ignition, unbuckled his seatbelt, and got out of the car. He walked around to the back passenger side and opened the door; bending down carefully to pick up Henry. It was like second nature and Henry put his head on Chris’s shoulder and slept right through the transition.

Mallory had walked ahead to make sure the door was opened and waited for Chris. She had to hold back the tears at the scene unfolding in front of her. It was truly a precious moment between the two of them, and she was mentally kicking herself for not allowing this moment to happen years earlier.

As he walked through the front door, Mallory directed him up the stairs to the room where Henry had been sleeping for the last week as well as where he could find his pajamas. As Chris ascended the stairs, she turned and walked to the living room and plopped down on the couch.


	18. Chapter 18

Mallory watched Chris walk up the stairs and disappear around the corner towards Henry’s room. She had to admit that the sight of him holding his sleeping son stirred emotions within her; emotions that she wasn’t sure she was able to still have. She turned and walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch, trying to get comfortable. She sat in silence and watched the staircase for Chris to return.

As her mind wandered to the feelings, she was having and what they meant, she finally saw him appear at the top of the stairway. It was evident by the smile on his face that he was happy and she thought she could even see his eyes dancing. He didn’t say a word as he entered the living room and took a seat beside her. He was sitting so close that their bodies were touching and she could feel her body temperature rise; she wondered if he could feel it too. The two of them sat in awkward silence for several moments.

Finally, Chris decided to break the silence, “You know he never woke up. I was able to change his clothes and get him into bed and he never woke up. Is he always such a heavy sleeper? Because if he is,” Chris trailed off, leaving the innuendo dangling.

“No,” she answered a little too quickly, “No, I think he is just really exhausted. He usually wakes up at the slightest noise but I believe he is so worn out from everything that he is just passed out. I do have to tell you that I think it was really sweet how you took such an interest in everything that he wanted to do today.”

“I really was interested – he gets so excited about stuff that it was infectious,” Chris reached for her hand and laced their fingers together, “I had an excellent time with him and loved almost every minute of it. My only regret for the entire day is that I didn’t have enough alone time with you.”

“Oh, aren’t you smooth?” She smiled as she moved a little closer and put her head on his shoulder, “It was really more important for you to bond with Henry today. It was okay for me to blend into the background and stay out of the way.”

“I don’t ever want you to feel like you have to blend into the background. You are too important to me and it is time for you to believe that.”

“You know when you brought me home last night he was waiting up for me.”

“Seriously? Was he afraid you wouldn’t come back or something?”

“I guess so, he isn’t used to me going out on a date so he didn’t know what to expect. He wanted to know that I was home safe but he said he didn’t want any of the details,” she said with a light chuckle.

“Well you weren’t willing to share details anyway, were you?”

“Uh, no. Although, to be honest, there was nothing that we did last night that would be inappropriate to tell him. We didn’t have sex or do anything dirty,” she said as if it was taboo.

“True, we could make up for that tonight, though,” he said with a raise of his eyebrows.

She raised her head and gave him a stern look. “We did talk about you, he asked if you knew his dad. Had to admit that one caught me off guard.”

Chris froze, he knew this would be a problem they would have to face head on but he wasn’t ready yet, “And what did you tell him?”

She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked up at him, “I just said that you knew his dad and left it at that. I really couldn’t say anything else. So, be prepared, he might ask you about him,” she said as she put her head back down on his should and settled back in.

“Great, so I get to lie to him right away if he asks about his dad?”

“You can just say you knew his dad well and he is a good guy. You aren’t lying, you know him very well and you know that he is a good man. You are just leaving out the minor detail that you are one and the same.”

“You say that like it will be no big deal to just gloss over that piece of information.”

“I know it won’t be but hopefully, he won’t ask about him and we won’t have to worry about it. Besides, you’re an actor, you can make something up and make it seem believable.”

He scoffed at her remark; she was trying to downplay the situation and he knew that but he was going to obsess over it and he knew that would only make it worse. “So did he ask any other questions about the two of us?”

“Well, he asked if I was going to marry you.”

“Whoa! He wastes no time in getting to the important stuff does he?”

“I told him that it was way too early to talk like that and that right now we just wanted to see if we still had feelings for one another and we wanted to date.”

“So, does that mean you would be open to the idea?”

She sat up and looked at him, “Chris, seriously?”

“I mean I’m not proposing right this minute, but are you open to the idea of getting married?”

“I don’t know, are you?”

He didn’t answer immediately but just stared into her eyes, feeling as if he was being hypnotized. “Yeah, I am open to the idea and I can totally see myself proposing to you. I just don’t think I am ready to do it after one date, though.”

She smiled, her heart melting at the words he had said, “I am open to discussing it but I am not ready to accept a proposal after one date.”

“You know, I would have to get Henry’s blessing first anyway. I need to make sure he would be okay with me marrying his mom.”

“Well, if it is any consolation, he told me last night he would not have a problem with you hanging around as long as you make me happy and you make me smile.”

“You have to hand it to that kid, he definitely looks after his mom and I am proud of him for that.”

“Yeah, well I guess he gets that honestly,” she said with a smile, “Speaking of your mother.”

“Were we speaking of her?” He asked sarcastically.

“Well, I am taking the conversation in that direction. Why are you mad at her? You aren’t filling me in on everything.”

“She saw you and Josh with Henry at the cemetery. She was far away and didn’t get a good look at Henry, but she saw Josh’s interactions with him and your interactions with Josh. She made the flying leap that you and Josh had something going on and that Henry was Josh’s son.”

Mallory let out a loud belly laugh, she could not contain it, “Oh my, please tell me you are kidding!”

“No, so she got me all worked up and that is when I stormed over to Josh’s house and then came over to your house,” he ran his fingers through his hair, “I am embarrassed over the entire situation and I am mad at her for putting me in that spot.”

“I can understand why you would be upset. Have you smoothed things over with Josh yet?”

“No, not yet. I will have to do that but I figure I will do it after you go back to Atlanta. I was more concerned with clearing the air with you first.”

“What was your mom’s reaction to finding out Henry is not Josh’s son?”

“She was shocked, which I can totally relate to. She was angry that I wasn’t told, again, I can totally relate. And I told her that while I was adamant about what I wanted, I did panic when I saw him for the first time and that I determined I wasn’t ready to jump feet first.”

“And she is accepting of your decision to take it slow and not introduce him to the entire family yet?”

“She said she respects it but does not agree with it. I think it is because she wants to meet him and she knows this means it delays her ability to spoil another grandchild.”

“How angry is she with me?”

“I honestly don’t know. I think she was mad in the beginning, just like I was. But I explained to her the situation and while, I admit, I still have the disappointment that you didn’t trust to come to me in the beginning. I do realize you were in a terribly difficult situation.”

Chris noticed that Mallory’s head was down and he was afraid that all of the positive strides they had made in their relationship were starting to crumble. Chris raised his hands and placed the on the sides of Mallory’s face and gently pulled her towards him. He gently brushed his lips across hers in the softest kiss. All of the air escaped her lungs and Mallory found herself struggling to maintain control. 

“I’m not angry with you, babe. I said I was disappointed and that is true. But I am committed to moving past it and making a relationship work between us. I love you. Do you hear me? I love you and I am not holding anger and animosity toward you.”

She smiled back at him, “I love you, too. You both have a right to be angry.”

Chris dropped his hands and his head at the same time, “Oh you are stubborn! If she is mad, she will get over it. She is, at least, going along with my wishes and not telling my brother and sisters.”

“What about your dad?”

“I haven’t told him yet. I need to call him, I know, I just haven’t. Maybe I will see if wants to go get coffee after you leave and I can tell him then.”

He leaned forward and kissed her again as if he could read her mind and know that is what she wanted. This time, the kiss was more intense. The passion was building between the two of them when he suddenly broke free and sat back.

“Why did you stop? What’s wrong?” She asked, a bit dejected.

“I have to stop now or I’m afraid I won’t and since there are other people in the house – well, I don’t want us to be caught in an awkward situation, if you know what I mean.”

Mallory looked up at him and he could see the desire swirling in her eyes, “I know exactly what you mean but I have to admit, I didn’t want you to stop.”

He leaned forward and kissed her again, “Thank God I’m not the only one that felt that way!” He put his forehead against hers and held her hand in his, “I really don’t want you to go back to Atlanta. Maybe we need to go ahead and revisit that marriage proposal after one date.”

“I don’t want to go back but we have to. I have to go back to work and Henry has to go back to school. This was one date – never mind that it was incredible, but it was just one, so we can’t skip ahead.”

“You know, there are schools in Boston and I could take care of you and you wouldn’t have to work. I’m just saying,” he smiled but he knew she was right. “Hey, honestly, this was our second date. We should count dinner the other night as our first date. Tonight was just our first family date.”

“You don’t give up, do you?”

“No, I don’t. When do you leave?”

“Day after tomorrow. We leave first thing in the morning, I am driving back with John and Darby instead of flying.”

“So when am I going to see you and Henry again?”

“Maybe you can come over here for dinner tomorrow night so you can spend more time with him before he leaves. Then we can make arrangements for the holidays to get together, that could work if you have time off.”

“I do have time off and you just gave me a great idea! Why don’t you two come with us on the family trip to Disney? We have to drive right through Atlanta so we could pick you up. I would be amazing.”

She looked at him and shook her head; her expression gave off that she felt sorry for him being so stupid. “Honey, I think when you get really excited about something your damn brain takes a vacation,” she said as she started to laugh quite loudly, “Henry looks just like you so how long do you think it will take your brother and sisters to figure out who he is? Um, less than a second, I am sure. And can we talk about your fans for a minute? The ones who plan their Disney vacations around your vacation? The ones who stalk you around the park and take pictures and video of you; they will see Henry with you and figure it out, too. Which means he will be outed and you will have a PR nightmare on your hands.”

“Wow, babe, you sure do have a knack for looking at the bright side don’t you?” Sarcasm was dripping from every word.

“I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to rain on your parade because I love the idea but I can’t help but think that it will not turn out as you have it pictured in your mind. I promise we will find a way to make this work between us. We both want it and I think that Henry likes you so he will be good with you hanging around.”

Chris stood up and began walking towards the door, “I better go, how about you give me a call tomorrow and we can coordinate getting together?”

“Why are you in such a hurry to leave?”

He began to pace as he watched her get up from the couch and walk towards him, “Um, because if I don’t leave right now, I might cross a line that I shouldn’t cross.” He slammed his hands in his pants pockets and tried not to look down at her or make eye contact.

She knew what this meant and she could not help but want to play with him and torture him just a little. She turned her head to the side and gave him a sweet and innocent look, “What is wrong, Chris? Are you starting to feel just a little uncomfortable?” As she asked the question, she trailed her index finger down his chest along the buttons of his oxford shirt. She thought she saw him visibly shudder.

“That is not exactly the word I would use,” he said in response.

“I understood that reference,” she said laughing back at him. “In all seriousness, why are you running away?”

“Because, right now I want nothing more than to take you upstairs to bed. But that would be dangerous to do with Henry in the next room and with John and Darby here. And, this is our first date in twelve years and I know you aren’t that kind of girl,” he said walking over to her and kissing her on the top of her head. “I need to go before I mess this up, we have plenty of time, albeit we won’t be in the same city. I am committed to making this work, which means I need to go home.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, “You are a gentleman and I appreciate you and um, I can obviously tell you are not happy to go home.”

“Fuck, do you have to point it out?”

“Go home and take a cold shower, but make sure you don’t say my name too loud. Wouldn’t want you to wake up your mom.”

Chris glared at her for a minute before putting on his coat and walking out to the car. He tried to act like he was mad but they both knew he wasn’t; he was amused at how she was openly toying with him. And both of them realized they were in over their heads – they were crazy for one another and there would be no going back


	19. Chapter 19

Chris was awake but not ready to get out of bed. The sun was shining in through the thin curtains and he knew that he was burning daylight. Unfortunately, the only thing that ran through his mind was that this was the final day in Boston for Mallory and Henry. He kept checking his phone, waiting for Mallory to text or to call and tell him to come to the house. He knew they were probably busy packing and decided that maybe he should be the one to do the inviting instead of the other way around. He grabbed the phone and hurried and sent a text.

“Morning beautiful – how about I bring dinner over tonight? That way you don’t have to cook or worry about anything. Deal?”

She didn’t immediately respond and he tried not to let it bother him. He just kept thinking that she was busy and probably had not heard the phone chime to announce his text. But when 45 minutes had passed and he had not heard from her, well then he became his own worst enemy. This time instead of texting, he dialed her number.

She picked up on the first ring, “I am so disappointed in you Evans, it took you 45 minutes to follow up? I was beginning to think you didn’t care.” Her voice was light and full of laughter and her smile radiated through the phone line.

“You mean it was a test? Damn you Mallory!”

“Of course, it was a test, I wanted to see how bad you wanted this,” her laughter was now out of control.

“Oh, you have no idea how bad I want it and I am telling you I am running a tab that you will eventually have to pay off.”

“Oh promises, promises,” she sang back to him. “In all honesty, you bringing food would be great. I figured I would have to buy groceries to make dinner and then worried about what I would do with the leftovers. I can pay for dinner but if you could pick it up and bring it, I would really owe you one,” she said flirtatiously.

“You aren’t paying for dinner. Is there anything I should avoid? Is anyone allergic to anything or do they not like a particular type of food?”

“I still hate Chinese food, Chris if that’s what you want to know! And for the record, everyone else will eat anything you put in front of them – I am the only picky one in the group.”

“Figures! You have to make me work for it don’t you? What time do you want me to come over?”

She was silent for a moment, not sure how she should really answer him. Her brain wanted her to answer one way and her heart (and ovaries) wanted her to answer another. She knew that her silence was slowly killing him and she honestly didn’t mean to torture him. She decided to go for it, “I want you here now – I know, probably shouldn’t say that but I feel like a teenager all over again.”

As she spoke the words, Chris was getting out of bed and getting clothes together. He didn’t talk, he only listened and was sure he could hear desire in her voice. He walked into the bathroom and began to undress as she continued talking, he had no idea what she was saying until he heard her yell his name.

“Chris! Aren’t you going to say anything?”

“Um…yeah, I am hanging up the phone so I can take a shower. I will be at the house in 15 minutes and you can say all of those things to me again because I honestly lost my mind when you said you want me.” He quickly ended the call and jumped in the shower, leaving Mallory laughing on the other end of the phone.

She hung up and walked back towards the kitchen where John and Darby were sitting at the bar drinking their bottles of water. She grabbed her own bottle out of the refrigerator, twisted the cap and took a long drink before turning to look at them.

“Ok,” she took a deep breath and prepared to just get it out all at once, “Chris is getting ready to come over and will be spending the day and evening with us. He is even going to stay and have dinner, too.”

John and Darby just exchanged glances and then John reached into his t-shirt pocket and pulled out a dollar bill and handed it to his smiling wife. “Thank you, so much my dear,” she said as she kissed his cheek.

“What in the hell was that?” Mallory asked incredulously.

John started laughing, “We had a bet going as to how long it would take for you and Chris to be back together as a couple and falling all over one another.”

“What? Are you kidding me?”

“No, Darby said it would be before we went back to Atlanta and I said with the way that you two were arguing the other night that it would take longer. She was adamant that it was all pent up sexual frustration and once you two acted on it – Boom! It would be over.”

“Well, to be clear, we didn’t act on anything. So, if that nullifies the bet, hand the dollar back over Darby.”

“You didn’t act on it at all? No, touching or kissing or heavy petting? Seriously, you two have kept your hands to yourself?”

“Oh…um…well…I might have kissed him a time or two,” she said, her face turning crimson. “We were possibly tempted to do more but stopped because you two were in the house and because of Henry.”

“Speaking of the little angel,” Darby said while glancing around the room, “How did things go yesterday?”

“I think I hear him coming down the stairs, ask him yourself.” Henry was, in fact, coming down the steps and propelling himself into the hallway; he was singing and dancing his way into the kitchen. He almost came out of his skin when he realized that everyone was standing there watching him.

“Well, it seems that someone is in a particularly good mood this morning. Did you get all of your stuff packed?”

“Yes, ma’am. Everything is ready to go except for my pajamas for tonight and my clothes for tomorrow. Do you want me to bring my suitcase downstairs now or just bring it down in the morning?”

John chimed in, “You can bring it down later, I will load up the car before we go to bed tonight so we don’t have to do it in the morning.”

Darby got up from her chair to throw her water bottle away and ruffled Henry’s hair as she walked by, “So, did you have a good time with your mom and her boyfriend yesterday?” She turned and looked at Mallory and gave her a devilish grin.

“We had so much fun; we went to the aquarium and the children’s museum and then the science museum and then we saw an IMAX movie about the moon.”

“Whoa, buddy, take a breath before you pass out,” John joked, “So, it sounds like you had a good time. Did you tell Chris all about the sharks and jellyfish?”

As Henry began to answer John and go into detail about the events of their trip, Mallory moved around him and towards the front door. Her phone had chimed with a text from Chris letting her know that he was pulling into the drive. She quietly opened the door and ushered him in.

She whispered in his ear, “Henry’s telling John all about our trip yesterday. If we are quiet when we are walking toward the kitchen, we can hear what he is saying.”

Chris didn’t respond. Instead, he put his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. He gave her a seductive kiss and then playfully slapped her ass. “Sorry, I had to do get that out of the way first.”

Mallory smiled and took Chris’s hand and began walking him toward the kitchen. She stopped short of the doorway so she could hear the conversation between Henry and John.

“So, you liked hanging out with Chris?”

“Yeah, he is really cool. He liked the stuff at the aquarium a lot but I think he really liked the science center. It was his idea to watch the movie about the moon. I don’t think mom really wanted to see it but he loves space. He said when he was a kid he wanted to be an astronaut.”

“So, you two had plenty of stuff to talk about at then, right?”

“Yeah, mom was bored I think. We talked about planets and stars and how cool it would be to travel to space. We even ate astronaut ice cream but mom said it tasted gross. Chris made fun of her and told her she needed to quit being a stick in the mud.”

Darby decided to use her child psychology skills on the situation to see how this was actually working out. “Would you be okay with Chris being in your life, Henry? I know your mom has grown-up feelings for him and I believe he has the same type of feelings for her, does this bother you at all?”

“No, I don’t think so. I asked her if she was going to marry him but she said it was too early to talk about that. I just want mom to be happy. She doesn’t know that I hear her cry at night – I just don’t want her to cry anymore.”

Mallory froze when she heard Henry admit that he heard her cry at night. That was something she didn’t realize he knew and it was definitely something she didn’t want Chris to hear. He evidently sensed it because it was at that moment he squeezed her hand and kissed her temple. She knew that he would probably ask about it later but for know he was going to let it pass.

She cleared her throat as a way to announce their presence, “Hey! Look who I found lurking around in the front yard.”

Henry spun around, “Hi, Chris what are you doing here?”

“Hey buddy, I thought I would come by to say goodbye to you and your mom since I know you are going home tomorrow morning.”

“Yeah, we are leaving in the morning. You can stay and hang out if you want, is that okay mom?” He asked looking directly at Mallory. “John and I are going to watch a couple of movies.”

“Wow, that sounds like fun. I would love to hang out if mom says it's okay,” he said, smiling an evil grin.

“I don’t have a problem with Chris hanging out and watching movies,” Mallory was trying to maintain her composure. It was hysterical that she wanted Chris over there but somehow it turned into Henry’s request for him to be there. Their plan for him to be comfortable with Chris was definitely working.

Chris took a seat at the bar next to John, “So, what movies are we going to watch?”

John started to laugh and tried to quickly cover it up, “Amazingly enough, Henry has never seen any of the Marvel movies, Chris. So, today I thought I would introduce him to Ironman.”

Mallory and Darby began laughing hysterically and Henry just looked at them confused. “Mom, why is that funny?”

“I think Chris is a big fan of Ironman. Aren’t they your favorite movies?”

“As a matter of fact, I do like Ironman and I have seen all of the movies. Tell me Mallory, who is your favorite Marvel superhero?” He asked so smugly.

“Oh, I have a thing for Captain America,” she said, winking at him.


	20. Chapter 20

Mallory watched as Chris settled in on the couch in the family room to watch Ironman with Henry and John. To her surprise, Henry sat next to Chris on the sofa. The two were quickly becoming buddies and it made her happy to see. She was lost in the moment when Darby walked up beside her and offered her another bottle of water.

“Well, they seem to be getting along okay. Do you have any idea when you might spring the news on him?”

“I know, he looks so happy and comfortable with him. I don’t know when to do it. And honestly, Darby, I think Chris is just as fragile as Henry in this scenario. I am not really sure he is ready to entirely accept the responsibility.”

“I don’t know, he looks so at ease with him.”

“Sure, at ease with him as his buddy and pal. I’m not sure he is ready to start playing the role of dad. And is that what it would be like? Playing a role? Or is this really real to him?”

“Oh, wow, that is a big question, Mallory. Is that really a concern for you? Are you worried about his feelings?”

“I don’t know. I am just confused – this all seems to be happening so fast. I came to Boston to bury my parents and didn’t even consider seeing Chris much less telling him about Henry,” She turned to look at Darby. “I have an all-out argument with him one day and the next I am fighting to keep my hands off of him. What is wrong with me?”

“You’re human, that is what is wrong with you,” Darby answered. “Honestly, you know what is wrong. You have never stopped loving the guy and having his child didn’t help that, at all! It was easier when you didn’t see him or only saw him on the internet or the movies, but now you have him in the flesh and the flood of emotions is strong and too powerful for you to resist.”

“I don’t know what to do about it, Darby. I love him but I fell in love with Chris, the guy who wanted to be an actor. But that guy in there on the couch, that is Chris the big time movie star – those are two different people.”

“Look, I don’t know him but I have a feeling he is not different, just his circumstances are. Because it is evident, he is still crazy about you and I don’t think any of this is an act for him. He seems like a down to earth guy, and dare I say, he was passionate the other night and goofy as can be now. You better buckle up sister, I think you are in for one hell of a ride.”

She knew that her best friend was right. While she would like to say that Chris was different because it would make this whole thing easier to manage; he was the same guy. Darby joined the boys to watch the movie and Mallory stood in the kitchen and watched them. Henry was completely enthralled with the movie and Chris seemed to be watching Henry more than the movie itself. She used this opportunity to slip away to her room to begin packing her things.

She finished zipping up her suitcase and sat on the bed; staring out the window, her mind racing with all of the changes that had happened in such a short period of time. There was a light snow falling and it made everything seem so peaceful. When she had arrived in town she could only think of leaving, now all she wanted to do was to stop time and stay. She heard a noise and turned to see Chris; he was leaning in the doorway, arms crossed and watching her intently.

She jumped at the sight of him, “You scared me, I didn’t hear you come upstairs. Is the movie over?”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to do that. Yeah and Henry passed out before we could start the next movie so I thought I would come find you and see what you were up to,” He stepped out of the doorway and began approaching the bed. He sat next to her and took her hand, lacing their fingers together. “You look like you were deep in thought. Want to talk about it?”

“Just thinking about all of the changes in the last week and how things are forever changed going forward.”

“Hopefully, some of the changes are for the better,” he said.

“Yeah, some of those changes are for the better,” she said, placing her head on his shoulder, “But some of them still make me worry about what is lurking around the corner.”

“What’s in the envelope?” Chris asked cautiously, afraid it might be for him.

“I don’t know, I am afraid to open it,” She said looking at Chris, his face showing that he was confused. “During the reading of the will the attorney gave me this letter. He said it was from my father and I haven’t been brave enough to open it or read it.”

“That is something we never talked about at dinner the other night, I was afraid to ask how it went. Did it go as you had anticipated?”

She shook her head, “Not at all. You know, I had always expected that I would be removed from their will. They cut me out of their life why would they leave me anything, right? But they included me in the will and they left money for Henry’s education.”

“You’re kidding? Why the change of heart?”

“I don’t know, I guess the letter probably explains it but I am not sure I can handle reading it. This house is mine now and I have business in Boston that will require me to come back here.”

“So you could be persuaded to move back to Boston, possibly?” She looked at him and didn’t say a word, instead she just slowly nodded her head. “I am not going to pressure you but I am just leaving it out there that I want you to move back to Boston, but not yet.”

“Wait, I’m confused. You said that you wanted to be with me and to spend time with Henry but now you don’t want me to move to Boston. What am I missing?”

“Right now I have time off, I will have to do some press and award shows at the first of the year. Then I have to do the press for the next Avengers movie.”

“Ok, that makes sense but I am still lost.”

“In late April I begin filming the next Captain America movie,” he paused for effect, “In Atlanta.”

Mallory’s eyes grew large, “What? When were you going to tell me this?”

“Actually, I just got confirmation this morning. I had to double check the schedule on a few things. We filmed Winter Soldier in Cleveland so I didn’t know where this one was going to be done. Since it is in Atlanta, it provides the perfect opportunity for us to spend time together. If I had encouraged you to move back to Boston, well, I would have been hurting my attempts to work on our relationship.”

“We will only have to work on a long distance relationship for a few months before we can see each other regularly then?”

“Yes, ma’am that is correct. I’m not sure I can handle even a few months so I’ll just have to plan that my travels have a connection in Atlanta.”

“You really intend to make this work, don’t you?”

“Absolutely and does that bother you?”

“No,” she said as she stretches up to kiss his cheek, “It does not bother me at all, it makes me happy.”

“I think you should read your letter. This has been a rough week for you and maybe you should get everything behind you before you go home. No sense in having this loom over you,” He lowered his head to look into her eyes, he could see the clouds of confusion swirling around. “Would it be better if I read it to you?”

Mallory didn’t speak, she didn’t even move her head in any sort of acknowledgment. Instead, she reached for the envelope and passed it over to him.

Chris carefully opened the envelope and removed the letter and unfolded the pages. He scanned the handwritten letter than cleared his throat before beginning to read.

My dearest Mallory –

You are reading this letter because I am gone from this earth and was never brave enough to reach out to speak to you in person. Please know that my heart wanted to, and many times I reached for the phone to dial your Aunt Mary’s number. However, my head and my foolish pride kept me from completing the task. I know that you have been hurt and have harbored a great deal of anger due to the actions that were taken by your mother and me all those years ago. Those emotions are justified and you need to know that, in retrospect, there is deep regret that we were not accepting of your pregnancy and that we turned our only child and her child out of our life. 

Your mother and I had a misguided belief that our status in the community and our reputation for the work that we provided was more important than anything. This meant that we were blinded by the truly important things in life and it lead us down the path of pushing the most precious person in our life away from us in a time when we should have been accepting and embracing. Yes, our faith was tested and we failed miserably. Your mother and I have spent many years praying and asking for forgiveness but we were still too scared to come directly to you for forgiveness because we knew that there was the risk that you would not give it and we did not think we could handle that, even if we deserved it. 

As disappointed as we were when we learned of your pregnancy, you do not know how overjoyed we were on the day your Aunt Mary called to announce that Christopher Henry Turner had been born. I had to leave the room, we had friends over and my emotions were too raw and I did not want to cry in front of them. We knew you were having a difficult pregnancy and several times your mother almost made the trip to be with you. To know that you were both healthy was a blessing and we were so excited to know that we had a grandson. Your Aunt Mary kept us up to date on how your life was progressing. She told us about your college graduation, your job and how Henry was growing. She would regularly send up photographs of the both of you. In our bedroom closet, you will find a box where we kept the pictures and items that Mary would send us. I hope you will see that even if we did not reach out to you, we were very proud of you as the woman and mother you have become.

I also know from talking to Mary that Henry’s father is not in his life and that is because of the decision we forced you into when we made you move out. We were wrong for not having you tell Chris that he was going to be a father and we were wrong in keeping the two of you apart. We did not have a right to make such a major decision about the course of his life. I will encourage you if you have not reached out to Chris, to do so and make him aware of Henry. It is the right thing to do for everyone. While I am sure he will be angry and will have a hard time understanding, I hope he will come around and realize what a real gift Henry is and will allow you both into his life in some capacity. 

Your mother and I are truly sorry for the pain we caused in your life, Mallory.

With all of our love, Jackson and Madeline Turner (Dad and Mom)

Chris folded the paper and put it back in the envelope, he turned to hand it back to Mallory and noticed the steady stream of tears on her cheeks. He stood from the bed and walked to stand in front of her, he reached for her arms and pulled her up and into an embrace. Chris didn’t speak. Instead, he just held her tightly and let her cry.


	21. Chapter 21

Mallory was unable to move as Chris read the letter that her father had written for her. He had, in essence, apologized for turning his back on her and praised her for being an excellent mother. While she was thankful that he realized the gravity of this decision all those years ago, she wished he would have put his pride to the side and said those words to her in person. The impact would have been greater.

But Chris read the words so thoughtfully and she could tell that it was hard for him to get through the letter. His voice sounded as if he felt like he was intruding on a conversation he should not be a part of. When Chris pulled her into his arms, well the flood gates opened and the tears began to flow freely. He didn’t say anything, he just held her tight and rubbed her back. Letting her know that she was safe in his arms and that he would not let her go when it was obvious she needed this.

Chris had known that she would break down eventually; she had been too detached regarding her parents. He could tell that she was losing the fight to stand so he moved to the bed. This time, he sat on the bed, propped up on the headboard and pulled her onto the bed to snuggle up alongside him. He held her close but did not press her to talk. Within a few moments, she had fallen asleep.

Chris wasn’t sure how much time had gone by, there were no clocks in the room and he couldn’t reach his phone in his pocket or see his watch. The sound of thundering footsteps meant that someone was coming to look for Mallory and the safe bet would be Henry.

Sure enough, he came running down the hall, “Mom!” When he got to the doorway and saw that she was snuggled up and asleep, he put his hands over his mouth as if he was trying to keep any other words from escaping. He gingerly stepped into the room, “Sorry, I didn’t know she was sleeping.”

Chris was amused at how terrified Henry had looked when he realized he could have woken his mom, “Its okay, she didn’t wake up. Come in here and have a seat and talk to me for a minute,” Chris said as he patted the bed next to him.

Henry walked over but never took his eyes off of his mom, “She looks like she has been crying, Chris. Did you upset her?” The tone of his voice was distinctly defensive.

Chris was now beginning to understand why Mallory was so concerned with telling Henry the truth. The two of them are so close and telling him that she knew the whereabouts of his father all these years could break the trust and bond that they have. For a brief moment, he wondered if they should maintain the secret and never tell him; if Henry was happy and well-adjusted why did he need to know the truth?

“No buddy, I didn’t make her cry. You know that your mom didn’t talk to her parents, right?”

“Yeah, mom said they didn’t love her anymore and they kicked her out.”

It broke his heart to hear him say those words, “Well, that is true, they had a fight and they told her to leave and she didn’t talk to them ever again. But the day before yesterday she was given a letter that her father wrote to her but never sent. She didn’t open it and read it until today and she actually asked me to read it to her. The letter made her very sad and she cried.”

“What did the letter say?”

“Her father told her that he was sorry and that he should not have told her to leave and he still loved her.”

“Do you know why they were fighting?”

“Yeah buddy, I do but I don’t think it would be right for me to tell you about it. That is a conversation you should have with you mom when she is ready to talk about it. I do believe that it is important for you to know that your grandparents were good people who made a decision out of anger and because they were hurt. They were stubborn in not calling your mom to work it out and your mom was really stubborn, too.” He laughed and ruffled Henry’s hair to lighten the moment. “I bet you can be stubborn when you want to be, right?”

Henry started to laugh softly, “Well, maybe a little, but that is because I know I am right.”

“Oh, you are just like your mom,” Chris said, shaking his head. “Can I tell you a secret?” Henry nodded his head vigorously, so excited at the idea of being told a secret. “I never stopped being in love with your mom. I have always missed having her in my life and want to do all I can to keep her in my life going forward.”

“Why did you two stop talking to one another? Did you fight?” He was inquisitive and Chris knew this could lead down a path that could be dangerous.

“Well, we didn’t fight but your mom was going through some rough stuff with her parents and decided it would be best if we didn’t talk to one another for a while. And then she moved away and didn’t tell me where she was going.”

“She said she broke your heart because she left without telling you,” Henry offered quietly. It was almost as if he was telling his mom’s secrets to Chris.

“Yeah, well I tried to get over her but it didn’t work,” Chris grumbled, finally letting the emotion of the entire scenario show through. “Henry, I need you to be okay with me dating your mom. I want to be able to have a great relationship with you and for you to give your mom and me your blessing.”

Henry ran his fingers through his hair and it gave Chris the chills as it reminded him of the same move he continually makes. “Are you going to marry her?”

“Only if you tell me I can. I want to, Henry, I want to very much. But if you say that you don’t approve, then I can’t do it. You have the most influence on her life and she will not go against your wishes.”

“I had a good time yesterday and you seem like an okay guy,” Henry announced, “But if you hurt her or make her cry, then I change my mind.”

“So, that is a yes?” Chris asked.

“Yeah, if you promise to take me to a Patriots game next season! Just don’t tell mom, she hates the Patriots but I really like Gronk!”

Chris began to laugh and he was afraid he would wake Mallory. “Oh, you have a deal, Henry!” Chris put his hand out to shake on the deal and then pulled Henry in for a hug. This entire exchange had made his heart swell and he had to admit it was one of the happiest days of his life.

Henry pulled back and sat back on the bed and tilted his head as if curious about something. “I bet my mom has always been in love with you and never got over you,” he announced, as if he had an epiphany.

“Why do you say that?”

“My name is Christopher, that is my first name. I always thought I was named after my dad but I bet she named me after you because she was still in love with you.”

A lump formed in Chris’s throat and, for a moment, he was unsure if he would be able to swallow or breathe. It had not gone unnoticed when he read the letter from her father that Henry’s first name was Christopher. He just had not been provided an opportunity to ask Mallory about it yet. She had said before that this kid was smart and he had already picked up on this. How long would it take to pick up on the fact that they had the same blue eyes and the same long eyelashes? If they weren’t careful, Henry would know the truth about Chris before they left for Atlanta in little more than 8 hours.

He was finally able to breathe and he was quick to think on his feet, “Oh, I don’t know about that. Christopher was a very common name and your dad was named Chris, too. So, I think it it is a safe bet to say that you are named after your father.”

“Oh! Yeah, you are probably right. I’m gonna go back downstairs and see if John wants to watch the next Ironman movie. Are you going to stay for dinner?”

“Yeah, I told your mom I would go and pick up food and bring it back. Tell you what, go and see what John and Darby might want and I will be down in a minute and then we can go get everything. How does that sound?”

“Sounds excellent!” Henry jumped off the bed and went running for the door.

Chris watched with amusement and could not stop smiling. He was just about to try to ease out from underneath Mallory when he heard her voice.

“Well played, dad, well played,” she snickered.

He looked down at her and smiled, “So how much did you hear?”

“I heard enough, I will leave it at that. I will admit that I was afraid you were going to lose it when he confronted you about who he might be named after.”

“You thought I was going to lose it? Mallory, I damn near had an aneurysm over it. You were not kidding when you told me he was observant and smart. I’m afraid he will ask for my DNA before I leave tonight.”

She could not contain her laughter and had to sit up to catch her breath and to keep from hyperventilating. “Oh, that is too good. Oh, Chris, he is curious and you are an opportunity for him to ask questions and he knows you want him to like you so you will answer his questions.”

“So you are telling me my son is manipulating me?”

“Absolutely! He is playing off he is so sweet, innocent, and adorable and will probably sucker punch you later.”

“How do I know you aren’t manipulating me into thinking he is manipulating me?”

She feigned horror and shock and asked, “Now would I do that?”

He reached over and began to tickle her and wrestle her down on the bed. Once he had her pinned underneath him, gazed down with hunger in his eyes, “Yes, I think so and you would enjoy every minute of it.” He leaned down and captured her lips, his tongue brushing across her lips and then pushing inside.

She moaned into his mouth. The kiss was so intoxicating and she could not help but allow him to deepen it. She knew she was playing with fire. Henry could very easily run back upstairs to announce he had taken the dinner orders, but she didn’t care. The hands began to roam and when she felt his hands reach under her shirt and touch her bare skin, it made her put on the brakes.

She broke the kiss and pushed his back and struggled to sit up, “We have to stop, we cant’ do this you know we can’t.”

He sat back, head down and dejected, “Damn, and it was just getting good.”

“I know Chris, soon, I promise but we can’t not right now.”

Chris got off the bed and tucked his shirt back in and straightened himself up. “I am going to get Henry and go pick up dinner, is there anything special you would like?”

She shook her head, she knew that she couldn’t play with him at the moment because the nerve was too raw. The desire that was building between the two of them was almost too much to take. They either needed to act on it quickly or she needed to hurry up and get in the car and drive back to Atlanta.

Chris didn’t say anything else, instead he just slowly exited the room and descended the stairs.


	22. Chapter 22

Henry and Chris left to go and get dinner and Mallory wandered aimlessly around the bedroom. Finally, after a few minutes, she went downstairs to join her friends and to try and occupy her mind with anything but thoughts of Chris. Unfortunately, that is all they wanted to talk about.

“Ok, so what happened with the two of you up there? Chris came down to get Henry to get dinner and looked like he was going to pop.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“He looked mad like maybe you two had been fighting,” John responded, “His face was flush and he was short when calling for Henry to leave with him. Not mean, but just clipped, that’s all.”

“Well, um,” Mallory hesitated for a minute, “he is probably a bit frustrated if you know what I mean.”

Darby started to laugh, “Oh, Mallory! This is brilliant. Have you not been telling me for years how you could not wait to have him in your arms and you wanted to feel his body next to yours?”

“STOP! Don’t say all those things, I know what I said,” her embarrassment was evident as the blush moved up her neck and into her cheeks.

John was laughing, “It is alright Mallory, I know that you have had feelings for him and I can imagine what you might have fantasized about. I’m a dude, but we think about these things too you know.”

She put her head in her hands and began to shake her head back and forth while her friends poked fun. “Look, I am seriously having a hard time keeping my hands off of him. For all the anger and harsh words we had the other day, there is nothing more that I want to do than to be with him. But I can’t, not with Henry in the house and dear God, not with the two of you in the house.”

“Are you afraid you would be loud?” John snorted.

“Please, stop, I don’t want them to walk in while you are torturing me like this,” She pleaded. “I am admitting that I have had a rush of feelings come back for him. And when Henry came back downstairs, Chris and I started to act upon them and I was very close to not stopping him. But I had to and I think he was, um, frustrated that I made him stop and believe me, so am I.”

“I realize this is none of my business but I am going to ask. Are you going to have him spend the night?” Darby inquired. “I mean, do you have, um, safeguards in case he does?”

Before she could answer, the front door opened and Henry and Chris came walking in with dinner. John rushed to help them carry in the food while Darby and Mallory got silverware and napkins. After Chris had sat the bags down on the table, he walked up behind Mallory, who was getting glasses out of the cabinet.

He put his hands around her waist and whispered in her ear, “You seem a little upset, are you going to be alright?”

She nodded her head, “I think we are both a little worked up and frustrated. John and Darby noticed when you left and they were questioning me about it, that’s all.”

He kissed her just under her ear, on her neck and she shuddered from his touch, “I see you still like that,” he smiled and released his arms and moved to get drinks from the refrigerator and joined everyone at the table.

Chris and Henry had gone to a local Italian eatery and had come back with more food than they could possibly eat. But they had covered their bases, amazingly, though, no pizza. Henry had proudly announced that he even talked Chris into desserts.

The conversation around the dinner table was light. Henry was still blissfully unaware that Chris was an actor, so there was no discussion of any of his previous roles or any upcoming movies. Instead, the conversation centers around sports, specifically, football. Mallory just listens while Henry, John, and Chris discuss their picks for the Super Bowl.

When dinner is over, Henry offers to help clean up the mess and to help load the dishwasher. While it is agreed, it will be run before bed, it is also decided that it will not be unloaded until the return trip to Boston. There is a little food left over and Mallory suggests that Chris take it home to his family. After all, since he paid for dinner, he should get the leftovers.

Everyone went into the family room to watch a movie. Henry was going to pick and he had already watched two Ironman movies so he wanted a change of pace. He decided on a Disney movie, wanted to watch Toy Story, and there was no dissension within the ranks. Chris and Mallory snuggled into one another on the couch and Henry sat on the floor in front of them. With the lights off and everyone engrossed in the movie, John and Darby took their daughter and snuck upstairs. Leaving the Evans and Turner family alone to watch a movie together.

As the movie came to an end, Mallory realized that not only were they alone but that Henry had fallen asleep. Chris offered to carry him upstairs while Mallory straightened up the family room and turned off the TV. She wasn’t going to argue with him, she knew he wanted one more opportunity to put his son to bed and she thought it was sweet.

Chris picked Henry up, he squirmed a little but eventually gave in, and he carried him up the stairs to his room. Like the night before, Chris put him into his pajamas and tucked him into bed. Unlike the night before, he stayed a little longer, leaning against the dresser, watching him sleep.

Mallory picked up the glasses from the family room and walked into the kitchen. She finished loading the dishwasher and started the cycle. Everything was cleaned up so Mallory went back into the family room to wait for Chris. She figured he was taking his time with Henry and she didn’t blame him. The clock on the cable box read 10:00 pm so their time together was fading and she wasn’t ready for it to end. So lost in her thoughts, she didn’t hear him come back downstairs.

He walked in and sat next to her and pulled her close, kissing her the top of her head, “He is out like a light. I folded his clothes up because I wasn’t sure what you were doing with everything.”

“Thanks, I have a bag of dirty clothes that way I can just toss it in the laundry room when I get home. I’ll put them in the bag when I go upstairs,” She snuggled into him a little more. “I suddenly don’t want to go home, Chris.”

“Yeah, I know. Look you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow and you have to go back to work on Monday. I should go home and let you get some rest,” He said as he began to move to untangle himself from her embrace; she just held on tighter. “Mallory, come on, don’t make this any harder than it already is. Please, babe, I need to go.”

She didn’t loosen her grip and she didn’t look up, but she did begin to softly speak, “Stay with me tonight, please Chris. Just hold me tonight and kiss me goodbye in the morning.”

When he didn’t answer, she stood from the couch and took his hand to lead him upstairs. As they began walking toward the stairs, he asked, “Aren’t you worried about everyone else in the house?”

She turned to face him, “No, I’m not suggesting we do anything other than sleep. I have to admit that I will have a hard time keeping my hands to myself, but it is more important for me to have you with me tonight.” He could see the emotion in her eyes and knew that she was pleading and he could not tell her no.

Mallory had walked into the room and turned on the small lamp next to the bed. As he entered, he shut the bedroom door but did not lock it, hoping it would not be something he would regret later. He watched as she turned down the covers on the bed and began to undress. She wasn’t attempting to make it an overtly sexual scenario but he was definitely turned on. He said nothing as she put on her pajamas and sat on the side of the bed.

After a moment, she finally asked, “Are you just going to stand there all night?”

“No, but I was mesmerized by you and I couldn’t look away. You know you make everything sexy, including turning down the covers,” he was laughing at this point. He quickly undressed down to his boxers and crawled into bed, laying down on the propped up pillows that Mallory had arranged.

She joined him, placing her head on his chest and wrapping her arms and legs around him. The touch of her skin against his sent sparks of electricity through their bodies. He pulled up the covers around them and wrapped his arms back around her. When he looked down, she was already asleep.

~ * ~

Mallory’s phone began beeping at 4:45, the alarm that had been set in the hopes of everyone being up and ready to hit the road by 6 am. She quickly untangled herself from Chris and turned the alarm off, it was only then that she realized they had not moved from how they had fallen asleep. She looked back over at him and he was stirring, beginning to wake up.

“What time is it?” He asked, wiping the sleep from eyes.

“Almost 5 am. Go on back to bed, I am just going to take a shower and get ready, we were going to leave around 6 so I had to set the alarm,” She began to gather her things to take to the bathroom and she noticed he was getting out of bed.

“How about I join you?” He asked and she looked terrified at the suggestion, “Relax, I’m kidding. We would never be done in time for you to be able to leave at 6 am but I do think your screams of ecstasy might wake the whole house.”

He walked around the edge of the bed and stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her. One arm snaking up under her nightshirt and the other just at the waistband of her pajama pants. He then whispered in her ear, “Tell me, baby, do you still scream my name?” He brushed his thumb over her nipple and it reacted immediately, “I think you’re turned on and if I were to dip my other hand any lower I would see just how much, right?”

Mallory quit breathing for a second, damn him for turning her on and knowing they couldn’t do anything about it. She figured he had to be paying her back for what she did to him the other night but she could feel him pressing into her so he was every bit as aroused as she was.

“You need to breathe, Mallory. Are you scared of what I might do to you? Or are you more afraid of what I might not do to you?” He suddenly let go of her and began to walk back over to his side of he bedroom. “Go take your shower, doll. And just make sure you are thinking of me when you are taking care of yourself,” He said with an evil grin.

Mallory gave a huff and walked into the bathroom and shut the door with force. Chris pulled on his jeans and shirt and went into the hallway bathroom to relieve himself and fix his bedhead. He then went downstairs and made a pot of coffee and waited for everyone else to wake up.


	23. Chapter 23

Mallory stood under the hot pulsing water and silently cursed Chris. He knew what he was doing and knew that it would drive her crazy. It was a 16-hour trip back to Atlanta and that was a long drive to be in the car thinking about him. That was 16 hours with no opportunity to do anything about the aching and desire that she now had. Damn him!

The problem was that she could not take care of herself in the shower; she had a constraint on time and the idea that he was literally in the next room was not going to help her in any way. Instead, she showered quickly, washed her hair and got out. Drying off immediately and getting dressed and ready to go. Her heart fell when she opened the door to the bedroom and realized that he has gone. The bed was made and his clothes were gone, he had left while she was in the shower and he didn’t say goodbye. 

Maybe his leaving like this was for the best. It was not going to be easy to look into beautiful blue eyes and say goodbye, especially while standing in front of Henry, John, and Darby. She moved through the room to pick up her clothes from yesterday and put them in the dirty clothes bag. She then moved to Henry’s room to wake him up.

Amazingly enough, Henry woke easily and without complaint. He shuffled to the bathroom in Mallory’s room to get ready. While he did that, Mallory made his bed and picked up the clothes that Chris had folded the night before. Once Henry was ready, the two of them took their bags downstairs and out to the car. John had intended to pack the van the night before but changed his mind. The least she could do was to put her bags in the van and reduce the amount of work he would have to do. 

She had everything in place and had stepped back into the house and that is when she noticed the smell of coffee from the kitchen. She didn’t notice it when she had come down the stairs, maybe because she was in a rush to get out the door. Most likely John and Darby were up so it was not that inconceivable that they would have made coffee. It was when she heard Henry yell ‘good morning’ to him, that she realized Chris was in the kitchen.

She walked through the entry way and found the two of them chatting away, never missing a beat. She went to the cabinet to get a coffee mug, never acknowledging that he was in the room. Finally, she was brought to a halt when she heard Henry make an observation.

“Hey, Chris, isn't’ that what you were wearing last night? Did you spend the night here or something?”

“As a matter of fact, I did. I slept down here in the family room, your mom and I were talking late and I was too tired to drive home so I slept here and figured it would allow me to say goodbye to you this morning.”

“Oh, that’s cool!” Henry exclaimed and then ran over to the family room, “Almost left and forgot my iPad, mom. That would have been a disaster.”

“Henry, go and make one last sweep through your room to make sure you have everything before we leave. I don’t want to get all the way home and realize you forgot something.”

Henry took off running up the stairs just like his mom asked. Chris got up from the table and walked over, placing both hands on the counter on either side of Mallory. In essence, caging her in against him.

“Did you take care of yourself? Are you feeling better or are you still needing a little release?”

She visibly shuddered as his warm breath reached her skin, “You have to stop Chris. I can’t take it and I am pretty sure if I turned around and grabbed ahold of you, that you would be rock hard and in need of your own release, right?”

“What’s your point?”

“Why in the hell are you torturing us this way?” Her voice was low and she moved back slightly so she was brushing up against his body. She heard a slight moan escape his lips and she had her answer to her earlier question. “All you are doing is making it worse for both of us.”

“Maybe I am just trying to build the anticipation for when we are together the first time.”

“You mean the first time in twelve years? Yeah, the anticipation is going to mean that neither one of us will end up lasting very long and we will be in for a night of disappointment.”

“Oh, baby, you definitely underestimate me,” He said as he kissed her neck and once again made her shudder. He stepped back, removing his hands from the counter, “But you are right, I need to stop before I spontaneously combust. You might want to go to the bathroom before you get in the car.”

Just then John and Darby entered the kitchen. Darby looked at both of them and then asked, “Did we interrupt something?”

“No, nothing at all,” Mallory said as she quickly excused herself.

“Before you ask, because you two are looking at me weird. Yes, I did spend the night here last night. I slept down here on the couch,” He figured he would keep up the charade that they had initiated for Henry’s sake.

“Oh, yeah, okay,” John said as he looked over at his wife. He knew that Chris was not telling the whole truth but he wasn’t about to call him out on it.

Mallory came back into the kitchen with Henry trailing along after her. She did not look at Chris, not sure she would be able to handle the eye contact. “Ok, I think we have everything. John, did you get your bags into the van?”

“Yeah, and I saw your stuff out there already. We went through our room and I think we have everything covered. So, are you having someone come in to change the sheets and clean up after we leave?”

“Yeah, I have talked to Mrs. Morgan about it. She is helping to make arrangements for me. So, if everyone is ready, we might as well hit the road.”

The coffee pot was turned off and everyone began to walk out to the car. John put Molly in the car and then he and Darby got in. Mallory was trying to lock the house when Chris walked over to her. 

“Give me the key. I will go in and clean up the dishes and take out the trash, then lock up the house. Does Mrs. Morgan have her own key?”

“Um, yeah, she does and that is my key,” Mallory stuttered back.

“Ok, I will keep it safe and get it back to you, I promise,” He said and held out his hand for her to place the key. 

Chris approached Henry and stuck out his hand, “It was a pleasure to meet you, young man. I look forward to seeing you again.” Henry shook his hand and he realized what a good grip the boy had. “Take care of your mom for me, okay?”

“Yes, sir, I certainly will,” Henry responded and then took off running to get in the van. Just before climbing in, he turned back around and ran back to Chris and gave him a hug, “I hope you can come and visit soon.” 

Chris was unable to breathe, he had not expected that and frankly, he was unsure if he would be able to contain his emotions. He was finally able to squeak out, “Me too, buddy.”

Mallory could tell he was struggling so she quickly moved to turn him so his back was to the van. Allowing his emotions to come out in private versus displaying them to the passengers in the van. “Are you going to be alright?” She asked, smiling at him. “Your son can’t wait to see you again. How does that feel, dad?”

Chris wrapped his arms around her and she could tell that tears were falling. He was doing his best to hold it together but Henry got to him. “Um, I didn’t expect that and I have to admit it feels pretty good,” He stood back up and looked down at her, taking in her features on last time. “It is killing me that you two are leaving but I will come and see you soon. Please let me know when you get home, okay?”

She nodded in agreement and then stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. “I’m going to miss you,” She said and she began to walk toward the van where the door was open and everyone was waiting. 

Chris took a minute to pull himself together and then turned around, “I love you, Mallory.”

She blew him a kiss and declared her love back, “I love you too, Chris.” Then shut the van door and John pulled out of the driveway and drove off.

Chris watched as the van disappeared down the street. He went back into the house, as promised and cleaned up the mess from the morning and then locked up. When he got home, his family was around the dining table having breakfast. His sister Carly gave him an odd look as he came walking in but after her mother shot her a glare, elected not to make a comment. Chris went to get a cup of coffee and then sat down next to his nephew, Ethan. 

He said nothing but helped himself to breakfast and kept wondering when someone would break the silence and ask the questions that were on their mind. Amazingly, no one did. At least not with the kids at the table. When breakfast was over, the kids went into the other room and that is when the interrogation started.

“So, did Mallory leave this morning to head back to Atlanta?” His mother Lisa asked. He knew she was dying for details.

“Yes, they did. She is going to let me know when they get home but it is a long trip.”

“Mallory? As in Mallory Turner? Your ex-girlfriend, Mallory Turner?” Carly was slightly confused.

“Ok, I am going to get this all out at once so listen closely. Yes, my ex-girlfriend, Mallory Turner was in town because her parents died. No, we have not seen or talked to each other in twelve years but we have reconnected. No, Carly, I did not hook up with her although the thought crossed my mind more than once. We had a rather lengthy discussion to clear the air about things that happened years ago and we are good.”

Chris pushed himself away from the table and tried to gauge everyone’s reactions. He couldn’t actually read what they were thinking. He started heading for the hallway, “I’m going to take a shower and take a nap, I haven’t gotten much sleep over the last few days. And to answer the question I am thinking you are dying to ask, Yes, I am still in love with her.”


	24. Chapter 24

They had barely made it out of Massachusetts when Henry and Molly had fallen asleep.  There is something about the motion of the car that immediately put children to sleep.  Honestly, Mallory was pretty sure she would have fallen asleep as well if it weren’t for the ache between her legs.  She had to stay awake because she did not trust herself if she were to doze off and start to dream.  She was afraid her dream would be vivid and that could be quite awkward with her son in the car.

Instead, she tried to focus on the book she had in her bag; the one she had brought to read in her downtime on this trip.  What downtime?  Of course, she had not planned for this trip to be full of drama with Chris and Josh.  She had just read the first page for the third time when her phone chimed to indicate that she had received a text message.

                _Hey beautiful, you are all I can think about so I can’t get anything done today.  Do you miss me?_

She had to smile, such an adorable text but of course, he needed the affirmation that she missed him.

                _I was missing you before we were even out of the driveway_

The distance, the physical distance, between them was going to be their biggest challenge.  The best way to describe what she felt for him was a need, she needed him and not just in a sexual way.  When she was away from him for all of those years, it was easier to ignore it.  It was almost as if she craved him but that sounded so dirty.

Mallory turned to look at Henry, who was sleeping in the third-row seat.  He had his head against the window and was out like a light.  She quickly snapped a photo and sent it to Chris with a note.

                _Thought you might like a picture of your son, he really is an angel when he is asleep_

Chris stared at the photo for a long time; taking in the words she had typed along with it, ‘your son.’  He knew that he would end up showing the picture to his mom.  It would be her first opportunity to see him and his first chance to show off his son’s photo.

_He is every bit as beautiful as his mother.  I miss you both terribly and I am tempted to catch a flight to Atlanta and meet you when you get home._

Mallory was tempted to text back and tell him to do it.  She knew it would be the wrong thing to do but she was weak and she knew it.  She even typed out that she wanted him to do it but quickly erased it.  She could not appear desperate.

_As much as I hate to say it, maybe we need to use this time to make sure we aren’t moving too fast.  But God knows I love you and want you with me right this minute_

Chris knew she was right.  They said they would take it slow and they had done the complete opposite.  He was struggling with what he should text back as a reply.  He didn’t want to come off too strong but he didn’t want to continue teasing her when he knew that would only be torture for them both.  Finally, he figured he would just say what he wanted.

_I understand, while we both feel this is right, we need to be careful for Henry’s sake.  I won’t torture you while you are driving home just know I miss you.  Please let me know when you are home, I want to know you are both safe.  Love you, C_

Her response was immediate, almost as if she had her response waiting and ready for him.

                _I promise to let you know the minute we are home.  I miss you and love you, M_

Mallory put her phone down in her purse and attempted to put Chris out of her mind.  She engaged in conversation with John and Darby and even offered to go ahead and do her portion of the driving.  It was a sixteen-hour drive back to Atlanta and with three adults in the car, they were going to trade off the driving duties so they could get the drive done in one day. 

The time seemed to pass quickly when she was driving and before realizing it, they had crossed into North Carolina.  Mallory had started driving in Connecticut, meaning she had handled the bulk of the trip.  She was getting tired and was only too eager to hand the driving duties off to Darby or John.  They decided to switch places in the parking lot of a gas station during a stop to top off the fuel tank.  As she settled back into the back seat, Mallory checked her phone to see if Chris had texted her and was disappointed to see there were no messages.

John pulled the van into the driveway at 11 pm, it has been an exhausting drive and the saving grace was that Henry slept for most of the trip.  He would be fine to go to school tomorrow and since she had planned ahead, she would be taking off from work tomorrow and could go back to bed after getting him out the door.  She took the bags out of the back of the van and made her way up to the front of the house.  Henry had run ahead and opened the door and turned on all of the lights so that her path would be illuminated.  After she had dropped the bags in the front hall, she went back outside and hugged John and Darby, thanking them for everything over the last week.  It had been exhausting but she was appreciative of their love and friendship.

Mallory went back into the house and tucked Henry into bed and then settled into her bed and texted Chris.

_I’m home and we made it safe.  Henry is in bed and so am I.  Exhausted from the trip, can’t keep my eyes open any longer.  Talk to you soon._

She was so tired she could not even keep her eyes open long enough to wait for his response.  It was a good thing because Chris was out for the evening and he was not worried about his cell phone or returning any text messages.

~ * ~

Chris put the phone down after texting Mallory and tried to find something to keep his mind distracted.  He settled on calling Josh; thinking it might be a good idea to clear the air and patch things up.  He dialed the phone and waited for Josh to pick up.

“Hi Chris, how are you?”

“Hi Josh, hey look, I was hoping maybe we could get together and talk.  Maybe grab lunch and hash out a few things, if you’re willing.”

“Well, I have to admit I wasn’t sure if I’d hear from you after the other day.  But yeah, I can meet you for lunch; when and where?”

The two finalized their plans and Chris started to get ready.  He knew he needed to apologize to Josh for their fight and needed to clear the air.  He also needed to let Josh know of his intentions with Mallory.  If there was any chance that Josh had an interest in her, he needed to know now, before it was too late.

As he came down the stairs, he noticed his mom sitting in her office.  He gently knocked on the door, “Hey, sorry to bother you but do you have a minute?”

Lisa Evans looked up from her computer and over the top of her glasses to see her eldest son standing in the door, “Sure, what can I do for you, Christopher?”

“I texted with Mallory earlier, she wasn’t driving so it was safe.  But she sent me a picture of Henry sleeping in the backseat and I thought you might want to see it.”

Lisa’s face lit up and she quickly removed her glasses and shut her laptop.  She reached out her hand, “Please, I definitely want to see him.”  Chris handed her the phone and she stared at it for a few minutes before speaking, “Oh my Chris, he does look exactly like you when you were his age.  The only difference is the fact that his hair is lighter.  Oh he is beautiful,” her voice cracked and he could see the tears in her eyes.

“Don’t cry, mom!”  His Boston accent was a little more pronounced, “I think he looks a lot like Mallory, too.”

“I see now why you made the comment about me not getting a good look at him.  You’re right if I’d been closer there is no way I’d have said he was Josh’s son.  He is a pretty little boy and I can’t wait to meet him.  Can you get me a picture that I can frame?”

Chris started to laugh, “Yeah, right after I get one for me.  This is my first official picture of him,”  Chris reached over and took his phone back from his mom.  “I’m going to leave and have lunch with Josh and I’m not sure when I’ll be back.  I need to go and do something to keep me from thinking about how I wish Mallory were still here.”

Lisa put her glasses back on and opened her laptop, “Okay, be careful and I will talk to you later.”  She began typing on her computer and then remembered something, “Chris, have you spoken to your father yet?”

He poked his head back into her office, “No, not yet.  I promise I’ll give him a call, though.  Before I end up telling everyone else about Henry, I’ll talk to him first.”

He grabbed his jacket and his keys and set out for Josh’s.  As he pulled into the apartment complex, his pulse began to quicken.  He was suddenly nervous, especially when he remembered that the last time he was here he punched his best friend and had his world changed forever.

He knocked on the door and stood back, wanting to provide space in case Josh came out swinging.  Instead, the door opened slowly and he noticed that Josh was standing back a bit as well.  The bruises on his face were quite evident and Chris felt his stomach lurch.  He felt horrible for what he had done and hung his head.

“Man, I am really sorry.  I feel awful about it.”

“Come on in, Chris.  Look, I get it, you were upset and you lashed out.  We can get past it, I am not mad at you, at least not anymore.”

Chris was shocked by his admission.  He cautiously walked into the apartment, still not convinced that Josh might not retaliate.  “So, look, Josh, I thought you should know that I’ve talked to Mallory.”

“Yeah, she told me you stopped by after you left here the other night.”

“Well, yeah, I did that but I mean we’ve talked after that.  I took her to dinner and we’re trying to work a few things out.”

This was obviously news to Josh, “I didn’t realize that.  I had lunch with her the other day; she stopped in after the reading of the will and we talked about you and Henry but she didn’t tell me you were working things out.”

“No, we discussed it later that night.  Up to that point, we had just argued over the fact that she kept him from me and her friendship with you a secret.”  He paced around the living room for a few minutes before he continued, “Josh, I have to admit that I was hurt when I realized that you had been talking to her and I never knew.  I guess I felt betrayed; you’re one of my best friends and you have always known how I felt about her and it was like you wanted to keep us apart.”

Josh just stared at Chris for a minute, he had to select his words wisely.  He knew that Chris was trying to smooth things over and maybe it wasn’t the best idea to be blunt.  But then again, Chris had already punched him so he knew what to expect if it came to blows again.  “I wasn’t trying to keep you apart but I wasn’t attempting to put you together either.  If this ruins our friendship, then so be it, but you were all over the place with dating.  If that is what you call it.”

Anger flashed in Chris’ eyes and Josh knew he was playing with fire but he was determined to continue.

“I wasn’t sure if you were really ready to get back with her.  You kept saying you missed her and thought about her but I didn’t think you really meant it.  You would go out and party and let’s just say your reputation speaks for itself, Chris.  Henry needs a dad and Mallory deserves a man who will love her and respect her.  I wasn’t sure you were really ready to be that man.”

“Let me guess, you think you are that man, though?  Is that it, Josh.  You were hoping you could keep me out of the picture so that you could be her white knight and she would fall for you?”

 

 


	25. Chapter 25

Chris was emotional, Mallory had that sort of effect on him.  Josh knew that it was risky to even attempt to discuss some of the reasons for keeping things so quiet but it was time for no more secrets.  Since Chris already knew about Henry, what was there to keep quiet any longer?

He began shaking his head before he spoke, “No, it was not what I was trying to do.  I do not have any romantic feelings for Mallory.  Do I care for her and love her?  Absolutely, but more like a sister, I have no desire to have a romantic relationship with her.  But I wasn’t ready to just throw her at you and frankly, I am not sure she was really ready for you.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Chris, she’ss not stupid and she knows you’ve got a reputation and you haven’t been sitting around pining for her.  Just because she can’t get you out of her head doesn’t mean you were doing the same thing.  Although, I did almost share with her how you screamed her name that one night with that busty brunette in LA.”

“Oh shit!  I forgot about that,” Chris said, grabbing his chest and laughing hysterically.  “That chick did not find it funny at all.  You know she never wanted to hook up again, weird, right?”

“I just want her to be happy, Chris.  I’m protective of her and I wasn’t sure that putting her back in touch with you was healthy.  And honestly, I am still worried about you two being together.”

“You know I’m not with anyone right now, so why are you concerned?  Cheating hasn’t been my problem, Josh.  I realize I might have a playboy image and haven’t settled down but I haven’t screwed around.”

“You have an ex who doesn’t want to let you go and you keep falling back into a pattern with her.  You two can’t seem to stay away from one another and that is dangerous and deep down you know it.  Chris, are you really ready to be a dad?”

Chris began to pace again; Josh had several good points and while he wanted to be angry, he couldn’t defend his arguments.  He walked around the back of the couch and leaned against the back for support.

“Josh, you know I want kids and I want to be a dad.  My anger the other night…I was furious at the idea that I had a son and that I had been kept in the dark.  I yelled and screamed and made it known that I wanted to be in his life and Mallory and I were worlds apart.”  He ran his fingers through his hair and took the time to collect his thoughts, “I went to pick her up for dinner and Henry opened the door.  Man, I got my first real look at my son and my heart stopped and I couldn’t breathe.  I began to think that maybe I didn’t want this and maybe I was wrong about being a dad.”

Josh nodded and tried to keep the smug look off his face.  He knew that Chris wasn’t ready for this and his words were only validating his point.  How in the world could Chris be mad at him for keeping them apart when he is now admitting that being a dad wasn’t what he wanted.

“But Josh, I am telling you, I spent an entire day with Mallory and Henry.  We went to the museums and the aquarium and I realized what an amazing kid he is.  I was in awe of how he looks at things and gets excited over the smallest things.  I couldn’t get enough of him.  I realized what a gift he was and how stupid I would be to turn my back on him and not appreciate what I had in front of me.”

Ok, that is not what Josh had anticipated and the look of shock was evident on his face.  There was no way to hide it.  “So, let me get this straight.  You want to be a dad to Henry?  You are ready to take responsibility for something and someone and grow up?”

“Wow, don’t make me sound so horrible, Josh.  I’m prepared to be a dad to Henry; of course, we have to tell him first.  Mallory and I are holding off on telling him.  We want to have him get used to me being around and then tell him.  We are not sure how he will take it.”

“And Mallory?  Do you want to be with her?”

“I do, Josh, I really do.  I think that I have spent the last twelve years trying to find another Mallory and there isn’t anyone who can replace her.  I just needed her back.”

Josh had to admit that his heart did break a little to hear that.  While he was honest with Chris, he did not have any romantic intentions with her; he could not help be feel like he would be losing her entirely if they reconciled.  But he would ultimately be happy if they were happy because that is what friends do.

“Josh, let’s go get something to eat and hang out.  Have a night like old times, no talk of Henry or Mallory.  I called Zach and Brent on the drive over here and they are in town and in the mood to party.  So, maybe we can tear up the town and it can be like old times.  What do you say?”

“Wait, you said you are ready to grow up and settle down and you want to go out and party?  Dude, you make no sense, it is like you’re contradicting yourself.”

“I have had one hell of a week, probably the toughest week of my life and I need to let off a little steam.  Plus, if I just go home I’ll pout because Mallory is not here.  Come on man, don’t make me feel bad for wanting to have one more night out with my friends.  I might not get this opportunity again.”

“You are pathetic, you know that?  Fine, give me five minutes.  You think Mallory will keep you locked up at home?”

“I sure as hell hope so,” Chris responded as Josh walked out of the room.

When he came back, the two guys left to meet their friends at a local bar for burgers and drinks.  While it was relatively early, the plan was to stay in one place all night long.  To keep them focused on their bro-time, they all turned off their cell phones and dumped them in a pile in the center of the table.  No one was going to be called away tonight.

~ * ~

Chris woke the next morning, head pounding and he had no clue where he was.   He slowly sat up and realized he was among a pile of bodies on the floor.  They were laying on a blanket with sparce covers and most of the bodies were scantily clad.  Thankfully he had on his jeans but he noticed the button was undone and the zipper was partially undone.  He was not wearing a shirt and he had been tangled up with an attractive blonde wearing only her bra and panties.

He pulled his knees up and put his arms on his legs, he had no memory of getting to this apartment and certainly no memory of how he ended up on the floor with a blonde.  He did a quick survey of the room and found Josh and a raven-haired woman in the far corner and Zach with a brunette just a few feet over from where he was sitting.  He didn’t see Brent but that didn’t mean anything, he could be there somewhere. 

It was as if a lightning bolt struck him, Mallory, shit, she was supposed to call him last night.  He stood up and began looking for his cell phone.  Success, it was on the coffee table with his pack of cigarettes and his wallet.  He did a quick check and found that his credit cards and money were still there so he was glad that they hadn’t been pick-pocketed.  He turned on his phone and there was her text message.

_I’m home and we made it safe.  Henry is in bed and so am I.  Exhausted from the trip, can’t keep my eyes open any longer.  Talk to you soon._

He felt a tremendous wave of guilt crash over him.  He couldn’t remember what he had done last night and he didn’t text Mallory back.  Maybe Josh was right to have concerns?  Damn, now he was going to second guess everything.  He sprinted for the bathroom, the guilt had turned to nausea and it lead to him losing the contents of his stomach.

He vomited so much it lead to dry heaving and he was only making himself feel worse.  He tried to freshen himself up and then went back to the living room to look for his shirt.  He found it and his shoes and quickly dressed.  He quietly opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.  His keys were in his pocket but he had no idea where his car was.  He was reasonably sure he didn’t drive; with the hangover he was nursing and the lack of memory, he sure in the hell hoped he had not driven.  As he exited the apartment complex, he realized where he was; Brent’s apartment, which explained why he was not on the floor.  Chris saw his car parked in the back row of the parking lot and as he got closer, realized the seat was pulled up.  This meant a shorter person drove his car, most likely one of the ladies up on the apartment floor.

He kept saying over and over again, ‘please tell me I didn’t do anything stupid.’  He opened the car door, pushed the seat back and checked the time.  It was early but he knew that Mallory would be getting Henry ready for school.  He might as well bite the bullet and give her a call.

The phone rang several times before she picked it up, “Hey, sorry, I was getting Henry on the bus.  How are you this morning?”

She sounded so chipper and happy; the cheerful tone echoed in his head making him feel worse, “I’m good, look I’m sorry I didn’t respond to your text last night.  I was out with several of my buddies and we had a no cell phone rule, I feel awful about it since I was so insistent on you calling me.”

“Are you kidding?  I fell asleep almost immediately after sending that text so I wouldn’t have gotten it until this morning anyway.  So you went out and partied last night, eh?”

“Yeah, I did and I think I am paying for it this morning.  I honestly woke up and had no idea where I was.”

Just then the car door swung open and the blonde he had been tangled with was standing there and she was holding his watch.  She leaned into the car and said, “Hey, baby, you left this behind and I’m sure you don’t want to lose it.”  She then planted a kiss on his lips and purred a good-bye.  She shut the door and strutted back towards the apartment; he was left speechless.

He was also left on a one-sided call because Mallory had hung up.  He immediately dialed her back but she would not answer the phone; he tried several times with the same result.  Finally, she sent him a text message.

_I don’t want to talk to you right now, please quit calling me.  I think I get the idea of what kind of partying you did last night.   I’ll call you when I feel like talking._

Chris slammed his hands on the steering wheel, “Fuck!  He debated leaving her a voicemail but figured she would just delete it.  He decided to go ahead and text her back, he had nothing more to lose at this point.

_Mallory, I didn’t do anything with anyone, or at least, I don’t think I did.  I slept at Brent’s apartment and when I woke up there were girls there but honestly, I don’t even remember getting to his place because I was too drunk.  I swear I would not have done anything to mess us up…I really do love you!!_

 

 


	26. Chapter 26

He waited, there was no response.  He started the car and drove home, checked his phone and still, there was no response.  He took a shower, drank almost an entire pot of coffee and tried to remember everything from the night before.  She still didn’t respond.  He had been dry heaving all morning and he was lucky that he was in the house alone; he did not want to explain this to his mom.

He tried to recall everything from the day and night before but the last thing he could vividly remember was at a bar with his friends.  He had been drinking heavily and had failed miserably at playing darts.  That is all he remembered until he woke up this morning on the floor.  He was afraid to call any of his friends because of the answers they might give him.  He did not want to realize that he did something that would mean he derailed his relationship.  Especially after he made a point of telling Josh that he had never screwed around on any of his girlfriends.

But the more he thought about it, the angrier he got at Mallory’s reaction.  The fact that she didn’t even wait for an explanation.  She just hung up the phone and took for granted that he did something wrong.  Why was that?  He had not done anything to misplace her trust in their time together.  In fact, if anyone would be trigger-happy regarding trust issues, it would be him.  The more he thought about it, the more his head hurt.  He decided to go to his room because everyone would be coming home soon and he was not in the mood to be around anyone.

He was lying on his bed, eyes closed and praying for his headache to go away when his phone started to ring.  He quickly jumped to answer it in the hopes it would be Mallory, it wasn’t, it was Josh.  His voice was groggy when he answered, “Hello.”

“Hey, are you alright, Chris?”  The concern in Josh’s voice seemed genuine.

“Yeah, okay.  I just have a headache that I am trying to get rid of, that’s all.”

“Oh, alright then. Well, look, I just talked to Mallory and thought you’d want to know I set the record straight for you so you could quit worrying.”

Chris sat straight up on the bed,  “Wait, you talked to Mallory?  How in the hell did you know?  Oh, let me guess, she called you to cry on your shoulder, nevermind,” he sounded disgusted and dejected and tossed himself back down on the pillow.

“Actually no, I called her.  The girl, Libby, she came back into the apartment laughing about how she followed you out to the parking lot and surprised you in your car.  She mentioned you were on the phone and you look terrified so she played it up and planted a kiss on you.  She was giddy with how she played up being all sexy and stuff and how you did not look amused.  I kinda figured you must have been on the phone with Mallory when she did that.”

“Yeah, I was and when, what was her name, Libby?  Well, when she pulled her little stunt Mallory hung up on me.  She won’t take my calls and told me to quit calling her.”

“Yeah, she turned her cell phone off.  I tried calling her a few times and when I couldn’t get through, I called the house phone.  Mind you, I had to wait until I got home because some asshat left this morning and he was my ride.”

“Sorry, I wasn’t thinking Josh.  I was so upset after that and completely sick to my stomach that I just took off.”

“Yeah, when Libby told her story I looked out the window and saw you drive off.  I figured you were really upset and I wasn’t going to call and make you come back for me.  Zach ended up taking me home,”  Josh stopped for a minute to collect his thoughts.  He wasn’t really sure how to proceed.  “Do you remember anything from last night?”

“Bits and pieces of the night including drinks at the bar and playing darts but not much after that.  Please tell me, Josh, I didn’t mess around with any of those girls did I?”

Josh couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, “No, you didn’t mess around with any of the girls.  Not for a lack of trying on their part, though.  Damn, they wanted a piece of you in the worst way.”

“Tell me I didn’t drive either.”

“You didn’t drive either, one of them drove your car to Brent’s because none of us were sober and all of the girls were.”

“Ok, well that makes me feel a little better.  Care to fill in the gigantic blanks?”

“Sure, I will tell you what I told her.  When we went out all you wanted to do was talk about her; she was the only topic you would discuss all night long.  We kept pouring drinks down you hoping you would shut the hell up, but you wouldn’t.  Chris, you left no doubt that you definitely have it bad for her.  We left and went to another bar with some girls that we picked up, one of them drove your car because the girls were sober and we were not.”

Josh stopped for another moment, wanting to gauge Chris’ reaction to the story.  He wasn’t saying anything at all; you could just hear his rhythmic breathing on the other end of the line.  So, Josh decided to push forward.

“The second bar was boring so Brent suggested going back to his place.  We stopped at a liquor store and stocked up and then went to his place.  We got the stupid idea to play strip poker and the alcohol was hitting us so we all started passing out one-by-one.  Your poker game is strong, even when you are hammered, so you were still partially dressed when you passed out.  I told Mallory all of this and the tidbit that Libby had been coming on to you all night long and you had rebuffed her at every turn.  Libby was furious that you showed no interest in her but you never shared with the girls that you had a girlfriend.”

“So, I take it that the incident in the car was her retaliation?”

“Absolutely, and it worked.   I think when she saw you engrossed in a conversation she guessed you had a wife or girlfriend and maybe her little scene would cause a problem and you would come crawling to her.  When I told Mallory that you were loyal to her and that you did nothing wrong except drinking too much and maybe smoking too much, she started to feel sorry for not listening to you.”

Before Chris could respond, his phone chirped to indicate he had a text message.  “Yeah, well my phone just chirped so I guess now she feels like talking to me.”

“Go easy on her Chris, she feels awful so don’t make it worse.”

“So yesterday you told me you didn’t want me to be with her and now you are trying to patch things up.  What exactly do you want, Josh?”

“I want her to be happy, Chris and if that is going to be with you, then I am going to make sure it happens.”

Chris thanked Josh and hung up.  He took a deep breath before clicking on the text message.

_I’m sorry that I didn’t give you a chance to explain, I let my fears and emotions get in the way.  I’m ready to talk if you are._

Chris read her message several times, now he wasn’t sure he was ready to talk.  He felt the relief of knowing that he had not fooled around with another woman or driven while drunk.  But he could still not shake the anger he was feeling toward Mallory.  He swung his feet over the side of the bed and walked downstairs, thinking that maybe he would go to mom for some advice.

She was in the kitchen cooking dinner.  He looked around and didn’t see Carly or the kids, which was odd.  “So, where is everyone?”

“Tonight it is just the two of us.  Ryan and Carly took the kids out to dinner for a change,” she turned and looked at her son, “Ok, you don’t look so hot, what is wrong?”

“I need some advice,” he said as he took a seat at the bar. 

While his mom continued to cook, Chris told her about his conversation with Josh and his admission that he was ready to be a dad and settle down.  He also told her about the drinking and the situation at the apartment and the incident with Libby.  His voice was low and he was embarrassed to admit everything to her.

“I take it that you are angry with yourself?”  Lisa finally asked.

His head shot up, “A little but I am angry with her, too.  Mom, I never did anything to make her not trust me, this is the first time and while I get she was a little upset, she shut me down.  I am the one who should have the trust issue with her, she’s the one who left me,” his voice had started to rise.

Lisa turned off the stove and walked over to Chris.  She took his hands in hers and looked him straight in the eye, “Chris, you know that relationships are hard and you know that it is give and take.  How much do you want to be with her?”

“I have never wanted anything more; I want to be a family with her and Henry.”

“Then I think you need to make sure that your relationship is truly built on trust and love and that you two are not rushing headlong into something without thinking.  Honestly, you already knew what you wanted to do but you wanted affirmation from me, right?”

Chris nodded his head, “I guess I wanted someone to agree with me that tearing it down and starting over is what I have to do because it sure in the hell isn’t any easy decision to make.”

She patted his hands and then finished getting dinner ready.  The two of them ate in virtual silence and when they were done, Chris helped clean up the mess.  He went back upstairs to his room and dialed Mallory’s number.

She was reticent when she answered the phone, “Hi Chris.”

He quickly interrupted her, “Mallory, I am sorry but I need to say this before I lose my nerve.  I think you were right when we talked the other day, we are rushing into this relationship at breakneck speed and I am not sure we are ready for it right now.  I think we need to concentrate on building our friendship and my relationship with Henry – those are the most important things right now.”

“Wait, so what are you trying to say?”

“I think for right now we need to table the idea of rekindling our romance,” he took a deep breath and attempted to steady himself before continuing, “I love you, I mean that; I’d seriously marry you right this instant.  But you didn’t trust me this morning and didn’t even want to give me a chance to explain or anything.   That won’t work for a relationship and you know it.”

Mallory said nothing, she was trying to keep the tears from falling down her cheeks.  His words stung but she knew he was right; she had jumped to the conclusion that he had done something wrong and never gave him an opportunity to explain.  She finally found her voice, “I see, okay.”

“I’ve got, to be honest, it hurts like hell that you didn’t trust me and I have no clue as to why that is.  What did I do to make you feel that way?  When did I betray you?”  He was pleading and she could hear the pain in his voice.  “I am not giving up on us, I need to stress that, I just want us to slow down.  We have feelings for one another and we want to be together but we need to go slow and we need to rebuild our relationship from the ground up.”

Her response was curt “Fine, got it,” she wiped her tears and straightened her shoulders to try and empower herself.  “Thanksgiving is coming up and Henry will have fall break.  If you want to make arrangements to come down and see him, let me know.  Bye, Chris.” And with that, she abruptly hung up.

Chris let out all of the air in his lungs until it burned; this was more painful than he had anticipated it would be.  She would have no idea how hard that was for him but he felt like it had to be done.  He would call Josh and explain to him but he wasn’t sure if he would understand either.

He really did want this to work and he would find his way back to her and they would be together; she would have to trust him on this.  Right now she was probably mad and he most likely made her cry and he wished he was there to dry every one of her tears.  He just needed to prove to her that he was worthy of her trust.  What she failed to realize was that she had been in love with the idea of him for twelve years, just like he had been in love with the idea of being a dad for all those years.  But now that it was a reality, things are different and he had come to realize that all in the span of a few days.

He was going to make Mallory truly love him and trust him and that journey started now.

 


End file.
